OBJECTIVES:

The Senior Scientist, Liver Disease Research will be part of a highly functional team focused on the evaluation of drug candidates for the treatment of chronic fibroinflammatory liver diseases. Projects will span the early project ideas to drug candidate selection, either on internal only projects or in collaboration with external partners, ultimately moving highest priority projects to therapeutic candidate selection. She/he will need to be a highly collaborative and energetic team player and a self-directed learner with a keen interest in rigorous, focused and fast-paced research. 

She/he will be a strong scientific thinker with significant experience in investigating the molecular/cellular basis of disease and/or therapeutic MOA/pharmacology, using in vitro and/or in vivo methods. He/she will lead scientific research efforts in collaboration with internal research teams, external partners and/or CROs to define system-wide mechanisms of action for Takeda’s novel drug targets in relevant disease models. She/he will need to be a highly collaborative and energetic scientist with superior communication skills, who can balance multiple, collaborative projects, working closely with project teams, GI systems and computation biology and biomarker leads. He/she will be a critical team member in the success of understanding and enabling the translation of therapeutic candidates.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Supportsfibroinflammatory liver disease research projects in collaboration with internal team members, external partners and CROs

• Generates and interprets relevant omics data in target and drug candidate mechanism of action and pharmacology studies in rodents and NHPs

• Leads efforts to evaluate and/or discover and validate biomarkers for specific targets and mechanisms of action using multiple state-of-the-art approaches

• Participates on cross-functional teams and provides technical support/input in area of expertise

• Proactively identifies complex obstacles to progress in specific areas; recommends and implements solutions using a diverse set of resources; regularly adds value to research projects through the implementation of creative ideas

• Communicates with colleagues effectively

• Design and execute relevant in vivo and in vitro target and drug candidate validation and pharmacology studies using contemporary methods and tools.

• Implement and/or develop innovative liver-specific protocols to assess target and drug activity in vivo and in vitro

• Prepare technical reports, summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses in written and/or oral form to other scientific staff or cross-functional project team

• Manage a wide variety of tasks, techniques, and projects; integrate these responsibilities to produce quality result with a high level of efficiency; may act as a scientific mentor to others

• Performs as a role model supporting Takeda culture and values

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Requires PhD in a relevant biological discipline with 2-5 years experience(postdoc or in an industry setting) or an MS with > 8years experience in industry or leading academic lab

• Background inmetabolic, fibroinflammatory, or cholestatic liver disease research

• Expertise in one of the following areas preferred: oligonucleotides, biologics/antibodies, or cell therapy

• Experience in designing, executing and managing complex in vivo pharmacology and/or target validation studies

• Significant experience with executing multiple procedures in living rodents

• Experience in tissue processing for RNA isolation, qPCR,protein- based analyses (Western, ELISA) and for various histology stains

• Experience with modern cell and molecular techniques including culture of primary cells, cell-based assays, 3D and/or organoid culture; qPCR, western/ELISA/MSD, ChiP, FACS/flow cytometry, IF/IHC, microscopy

• Solid understanding of utilizing bulk, single cell and/or single nuclear RNAseq methods to address MOA of targets and/or therapeutics 

• Familiar with comp bio methods, analytical and visualizations tools and interfaces

• Demonstrated ability to independently solve scientific problems using multiple, state-of-the-art technologies and approaches

• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly collaborative, focused and fast-paced and energetic research team

• Strong organizational and effective communication skills

The position will be based in Cambridge, MA.