The Role
The senior scientist will be critical in supporting the NATA chemistry department by being a key member of the chemistry team supporting the design, synthesis and development of new and novel therapeutic oligonucleotides for various translational and collaborative projects. The successful candidate will both work independently and be part of project teams. This individual will be involved in the design, development and testing of novel chemical modalities for Nucleic Acid delivery. This position will also include the optimization of the synthesis of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics in the direction of maximizing their potency, minimizing side effects, and employing other beneficial features that improve their therapeutic precision and impact.
Main Responsibilities
1. Serve as a key member in optimizing current Nucleic Acid Therapeutic platform, development of new chemical modalities and production of multiple lead compounds.
2. Play an active role in synthesis, purification and analysis of novel nucleosides, phosphoramidites and oligonucleotides with minimal supervision.
3. Contribute actively to synthetic route designing, implementing new techniques and methods.
4. Contribute to advanced conjugation chemistry.
5. Recognise opportunities for the creation of intellectual property and cooperate in patent protection and exploitation.
6. Write and submit manuscripts for publication with the Chemistry Lead R and I.
7. Managing chemistry laboratory resources efficiently and troubleshooting equipment and synthetic procedures.
8. Conducting quality control and preparing data sheets.
9. Keeping excellent scientific records and implementing databases.
10. Presenting work internally, externally and contributing to lab meetings.
11. Provide regular updates on project status to the Chemistry Lead R and I.
12. Participate in supervising R & D activities at external contract research organizations.
13. Maintaining an up to date and deep understanding of relevant literature.
14. Work effectively with collaborators.
Other Responsibilities
15. Line management responsibilities.
16. Attend relevant meetings and conferences.
17. Support quality control duties when necessary.
18. Undertake any necessary training that contributes to the development of the main responsibilities.
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Essential selection criteria
19. PhD degree in Chemistry with expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, oligonucleotide chemistry or nucleoside/nucleic acid chemistry. Post-PhD postdoctoral or industrial experience preferred, however fresh PhDs with excellent track record will also be considered.
20. Extensive experience of working in a chemistry lab (academia or industry) conducting air/moisture sensitive reactions.
21. Hands-on experience with purification techniques like reverse phase, normal phase, HPLC, ion-exchange chromatography and flash column chromatography.
22. Proficient in characterization techniques such as LC-MS, HRMS, NMR etc (including data analysis and interpretation).
23. Expertise in conjugation chemistry.
24. Computer Literacy; should be familiar with chemistry softwares like Chemdraw and Mestrenova and search tools like Scifinder/Reaxys.
25. Experience in drafting research articles and patents for publication.
26. Ability to communicate scientifically, capable of critical thinking and troubleshooting when necessary.
27. Experience in establishing, optimising and adopting operating procedures.
28. Good communication skills, team-player, organized, eye for detail & willingness to learn.
Desirable selection criteria
29. Experience in solid support synthesis or working with an oligonucleotide synthesizer.
30. Knowledge in bioinformatics.
31. Interdisciplinary interests with an emphasis on chemical biology.
32. Experience in large data set analysis and database management.
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