Research Assistant III - Brain Targeting Program

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

The Wyss Institute’s mission is to transform healthcare and the environment by emulating the way nature builds. We harness the imagination of academia and the focus of industry to translate ground-breaking technologies into commercial products that solve big problems. We support research that universities, companies, and venture capital firms don’t fund because they view it as too risky. We prefer to use the word “challenging,” and we love challenges.

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About you:

You are a collaborative, impact-focused problem solver who wants to be part of a dynamic team dedicated to creating and commercializing novel approaches to global challenges in healthcare and sustainability. You want the opportunity to explore your scientific interests and apply your knowledge to tackle ambitious projects in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial-minded environment with resources and support from top-notch scientific, operations, and administrative professionals.

You enjoy working with highly motivated, diverse teams and leveraging your expertise to create innovations that can change the world.

We are looking for a Research Assistant III to join the Brain Targeting Program (BTP) team and support antibody brain shuttle compound screening and validation in vivo and in vitro. The mission of the Wyss BTP is to develop a robust modular brain delivery platform that is able to deliver large-molecule therapeutics for diverse brain diseases. We aim to help expand the pipeline of CNS drugs by making our platform broadly available to companies, academics and non-profit organizations.

Reporting to a Scientist on the team, you will support in vivo functional screening studies of brain shuttle antibodies via close collaboration with the veterinary team; assist in developing, troubleshooting, and standardizing in-house developed in vitro assays to assess antibody shuttle function and develop ability; perform tissue processing and downstream analytical assays, such as ELISAs; analyze and summarize datasets; o prepare figures and presentations;

contribute to overall lab organization and compliance.

The ideal candidate has strong rodent handling experience, including intravenous injection (IV), cardiac perfusion, and brain and peripheral tissue harvesting, is detail orientated and excited for translational research, and thrives in a highly collaborative, fast paced research environment.

• Support in vivo functional screening:
  • Accurately prepare drugs for in vivo studies.
  • Proficiently perform drug dosing (IV, IP, SC), cardiac perfusion and tissue dissection; perform downstream tissue processing, including lysate preparation, and tissue sectioning; perform ELISAs using tissue lysates and plasma samples.
  • Manage mouse line inventory in animal facility.
• Support in vitro tissue culture and maintain cell lines; accurately perform cell-based assays.
• Efficiently organize and keep track of lab materials and reagents; perform support activities, including ordering supplies and shipping/receiving materials.
• Accurately and thoroughly document experimental observations and protocols; write/update standard operating procedures, and actively perform troubleshooting when needed.
• Demonstrate a commitment to teamwork, scientific rigor, and collaboration within and across teams.

• Must be able to lift 50 pounds maximum, with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing 15-30 pounds, and push and pull heavy equipment. Must be able to walk or stand for a full 7-hour shift and be able to perform repetitive motions over extended periods of time. Must be able to perform in an environment with exposure to animals, animal dander, animal byproducts, and…