Sr. Scientist PSTS Transl. PK

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Job Description:

We are currently seeking a Senior Scientist to join our Global Translational ADME group, an area within the Translational Pharmacokinetics (PK)/Pharmacodynamics (PD) & Investigative Toxicology (TPPIT) department. Our global translational ADME team is committed to providing project teams with mechanistic insights and integrating data to understand the correlations between in vitro and in vivo ADME properties, as well as the interplay between PK, toxicokinetics and PD responses.

The Translational ADME team in Beerse is looking for a highly motivated individual to pioneer and implement New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), including organotypic in vitro models that emulate organ biology to enable comprehensive PK/PD and safety characterization within a singular in vitro system (“PK/PD in a dish”). In this role, you will be supporting the ADME, efficacy, and safety profiling of small molecules and modalities such as antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), peptides, proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs), and antibodies. The successful candidate will play a key role in establishing workflows to determine the therapeutic exposure in a patient centric manner by establishing next generation complex in vitro models and in silico approaches. Strong subject matter expertise and hands-on experience with organoids, tumoroids, bio-printed platforms are expected, and co-culture models with immune cells. This position will require hands-on lab work, while also offering ample scientific leadership and personal growth opportunities through training, mentoring and R&D-wide connectivity. Additionally, you will be authoring reports and scientific publications and present data to the scientific community both internally and externally.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Education: PhD degree in a relevant life science discipline (e.g. cellular biology, immunology, biomedical sciences or similar) with a preference for candidates with postdoctoral experience.

• Technical Expertise: Strong theoretical knowledge and practical experience in culturing organotypic models (organoids, tumoroids, bio printed platforms, co-culture models with immune cells).
• Methodological Skills: A broad range of hands-on experience in cellular and molecular methodologies such as staining and imaging techniques, cell separation, transcriptomics, enzyme activity assays.

• Innovative thinking: Ability to innovate on study design for ADME, safety and biological readouts to enable the definition of an in vitro therapeutic window.
• Scientific Curiosity: High degree of scientific curiosity and creativity to tackle complex investigational hypotheses
• Project Management: Capability to manage multiple divergent research lines while maintaining oversight of project timelines and status.
• Interpersonal Skills: Strong interpersonal skills necessary for facilitating efficient interactions with both internal teams and external collaborators.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Relevant post-doctoral and/or pharmaceutical industry experience.
• Experience in ADME (drug disposition, metabolism) assays is a plus.
• Experience in pharmacokinetics is a plus.
• Experience with analytical techniques (LC-MS/MS) is considered a plus.
• Experience with programming platforms like R and keen interest in in silico approaches is a plus.

Key Working Relationships:

• The candidate will work independently and in a matrix environment at the interface of multiple departments to accomplish project objectives.
• Scientific mentoring and on the job training will be provided by qualified team members.
• Close collaboration with, and involvement in multiple disciplines (PK/PD modelling, Therapeutic Discovery, Cellular Pharmacology, Nonclinical Safety) will be key to the successful execution of projects.
• The candidate’s work will be highly cross-functional, providing ample opportunities for scientific growth, personal development, and R&D-wide connectivity.
• Proximity to portfolio project teams will enable real-world needs for testing to be relayed and allow innovative science to be applied. 
• The candidate may be involved to a limited extend in external and academic collaborations