JOB DESCRIPTION

Department: Research

Reports to: Senior Director- AAV platform

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

As scientist/senior scientist within the AAV Capsid Targeting and Engineering team, you will be an integral member of the AAV platform team at Evox. You will play a key role in both designing and executing experiments with the goal of developing and testing strategies to associate and/or encapsulate AAV capsids within exosomes, which will ultimately lead to novel therapeutics. In this role, the successful candidate will primarily design, build, and apply novel AAV capsid screening tools to further extend Evox’s cutting-edge AAV and exo-AAV technology platform.

This position is based at Evox Therapeutic’s facility at the Oxford Business Park, Oxford, UK, with some work also carried out at the Oxford Science Park, Oxford, UK. The successful candidate will report to the Senior Research Director.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Design and screening of capsid targeting libraries using high-throughput approaches.
• Take a ‘hands-on’ approach to designing and evaluating novel strategies to increase the association of AAV with exosomes through AAV and/or exosome engineering strategies.
• Design and contribute to the characterisation of lead capsid variants and facilitate their translation into gene therapy products.
• Deliver reports ensuring timely completion and high-quality documentation.
• Support line manager in a matrix team environment, and in ensuring smooth running of the group.
• Work collaboratively with the technical and operational stakeholders within the AAV team, other colleagues within Research and also those across the R&D organisation.
• Build strong working relationships with enabling functions, including Finance, IP, Legal, Business Development and HR to ensure the optimal environment for the delivery of objectives.
• Collaborate with the intellectual property team to align on approach, and aid in the drafting of patent claims.
• Ensure a healthy and safe working environment.
• Act as a role model for the Company values and leadership behaviours as well as demonstrating collaborative behaviour.
• Present regularly to the internal senior R&D team and provide timely provision of data and documentation reports to support intellectual property filings and regulatory submissions.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

It is anticipated that the successful candidate will have several years’ experience with a range of biochemical, molecular and cell biology techniques and will therefore be confident to work independently, as well as mentor junior members of the team. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate excellent scientific aptitude, be self-motivated and delivery focussed, with excellent inter-personal skills whilst being confident in leading and communicating studies. The AAV Capsid Targeting and Engineering team is responsible for bringing scientific ideas to fruition so creativity in this role is essential.

Experience & knowledge

Essential

• PhD qualified in Molecular Biology, or relevant biological sciences field with several years’ of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or academic environment.
• Experience with library design, NGS, barcoding and screening.
• Experience with standard Molecular Biology and Biochemical techniques, e.g. qPCR/ddPCR/ELISA/western blot/flow cytometry.
• Experience using molecular biology software and online tools (e.g. UCSC, NCBI, Ensembl, etc).
• Experience with mammalian cell culture.
• Ability to work independently.
• Good conceptual, analytical thinking, problem solving, and organisational skills.
• Ability to work in a high paced team environment and meet deadlines.
• Ability in leading and balancing multiple priorities and projects at the same time and be able to change priorities as needed by the business.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated ability to work within a team environment.

Desired

• Background and understanding of AAV biology as well as gene therapy.
• Previous experience in the field of synthetic biology or AAV gene therapy preferred.
• Experience with in vitro AAV potency assays.
• Experience with bioinformatic programming (e.g. R, Python, MySql, Java, etc) is desired.
• Experience in managing and collaborating with CROs.

KEY BEHAVIOURAL ATTRIBUTES – ALL STAFF

People with Purpose – We are innovative and creative in the way we work and deliver. We treat each other with respect and dignity and work collaboratively to learn from each other’s strengths.

Driven to Deliver – We strive to deliver our objectives, and then look for our next challenge. We recognise our achievements and celebrate our successes.

Agile and Accountable – We respond to challenges impacting our progress and find creative and innovative solutions to overcome obstacles. We are brave and not afraid to change our approach to achieve a positive outcome in optimum time.

Candid and Constructive – We communicate with honesty and transparency throughout the team. We value giving and receiving constructive feedback to each other and our partners.