Lab Head, mRNA R&R

Lab Head, mRNA R&R

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. R&D is committed to discovering and delivering transformational vaccines and medicines to prevent and change the course of disease.

We believe the Greater Boston area is an important hub for the biotech and pharma industry, which is why we've invested in growing our footprint and expanding our R&D space in Cambridge, with a primary focus on additional state-of-the-art lab space. Here, we will bring together talent and expertise, building upon GSK's long history of vaccine development, to create globally leading viral capabilities and cutting-edge vaccines technologies, as we add to our robust portfolio targeting infectious diseases at every stage of life.

In the plan to create a new hub for mRNA-based vaccine discovery in Cambridge, we are building new laboratories that will be focused on the development of state-of-the-art methods that will be supporting deep product understanding, process, and product development, as well as testing of pre-clinical and clinical samples for new mRNA-based vaccines.

The mRNA Research & Rapid Response (R&R) team group at the US Research and Development Center, GSK Vaccines, is seeking a highly motivated and visionary leader to spearhead efforts in designing, producing, and characterizing mRNA vaccine candidates. This team provides key molecular biology and cell biology support to mRNA vaccine discovery and development programs, and is also responsible for implementing new techniques and technologies to improve high throughput generation and screening of vaccine candidates, including high-throughput cloning, high-throughput RNA generation and high-throughput in vitro cell-based characterization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead a diverse team of molecular biologists to design and execute preclinical studies, with the goal of generating and testing new mRNA vaccine and therapeutic candidates
• Develop and refine experimental protocols, utilizing cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology, with special emphasis on high-throughput workflows for plasmid DNA templates cloning, in vitro RNA production and screening
• Facilitate a streamlined transfer process of selected candidates from preclinical to technical development teams
• Provide inspiring leadership with an enterprise mindset, fostering professional development and qualifications among staff.
• Ensure the team utilizes cutting-edge technologies to provide top-tier preclinical expertise for GSK vaccine projects, from discovery through lifecycle management.
• Align team objectives with R&D and business priorities, ensuring activities are structured and delivered according to project needs.
• Take full accountability for managing team tasks, meeting data integrity and quality standards, and innovating technology in the lab for enhanced data quality and resource utilization.
• Engage in strong scientific leadership to facilitate collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate in intellectual property and regulatory filings and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals.
• Supervise a team of 5-10 scientists, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows where necessary.
• Oversee lab management, ensuring compliance with GSK's Environment, Health, and Safety standards as a fundamental aspect of operations and culture.

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology or a related field with a minimum of 5 years of experience.
• Five or more years of experience in RNA design, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, high-throughput technologies, and screening.
• Two or more years of experience in leading a team of RNA scientists and building collaborations within a matrix organization.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a pharmaceutical research environment developing nucleic acid therapeutics.
• Experience in development of vaccine candidates against respiratory viruses.
• Familiarity with computational biology approaches for RNA design.
• Prior experience with high-throughput cloning, RNA synthesis, and cell-based screening platforms.
• Strong track record of scientific publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written.

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Why GSK?
Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases - to impact health at scale.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we're committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.

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