Job Description

The Human Target Validation Core is an innovative research unit in Translational Biology (Research & Early Development) focused on advancing the human basis of therapeutic development.Our team is building a human tissue repository, conducting single cell multi-omics profiling of preclinical models & human tissues, generating novel human genetic data from patients, and building an integrated analytics platform to derive system biological insight.We seek to discover transformative medicines for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by leveraging new understanding of human disease biology, genetics, and cutting-edge technologies allowing deeper analysis of pathogenic mechanisms. Pushing back the frontier of neurological disease therapeutics lies at the center of Biogen’s mission.

The Human Target Validation Core at Biogen is seeking a highly collaborative scientist to join a research team focused on novel target identification and validation for MS in a Research Fellow role. This newly created role at Biogen is an 18-month position designed to provide a unique opportunity for academically trained scientists to gain exposure to drug development and train in an industry research setting, while publishing scientific findings as lead authors. The individual will be expected to lead, design and execute statistical genetic studies of MS disease severity and progression, in clinical trials and a unique collection of real-world clinical, imaging and biomarker data from MS patients in the MS PATHS cohort (www.mspaths.com).

The aim is to generate novel human genetics data and integrate it with omics data for the purpose of target discovery and validation. These data will also be used to prioritize existing portfolio projects. The candidate is expected to work independently and creatively in a highly matrixed and cross-disciplinary environment, as well as foster internal and external collaborations to advance the studies. The work will involve a wide array of computational analyses using statistical genetic approaches and is expected to high quality first-author publications.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

•  Develop creative and innovative research plans to validate targets and advance drug discovery projects towards clinical development;

•  Design and conduct statistical genetic studies of MS disease severity & progression in trial data and the MS PATHS cohort;

•  Collaborate internally with stakeholders in the MS research unit and the Medical group, and externally with MS PATHS clinicians and team members from our pre-competitive industry partnership;

•  Prepare, review and deliver scientific presentations for internal/external use;

•  Keep abreast of, and use, state-of-the-art technologies in statistical genetics; and

•  Write reports, manuscripts and generate data packages supporting drug candidate advancement and/or publication.

Qualifications

REQUIRED:

• Outstanding communication & teamwork skills

• Strong self-motivation

• Experience with statistical software (e.g. R, MATLAB)

• Computer programming / scripting skills (e.g. Python, UNIX Shell)

• Experience conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS)

PREFERRED:

• Experience manipulating large datasets

• Familiarity with summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and expression   quantitative trait locus (eQTL) studies

• Experience with colocalization analysis (e.g. Coloc, Moloc)

• Strong scientific background in Neurology and/or Immunology and prior experience with MS is a plus

• Experience working on a high-performance computing cluster

EDUCATION:

REQUIRED:

• Ph.D. degree in Statistical Genetics, Human Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, Computational Biology, or related field

DESIRABLE:

• Postdoctoral experience in an academic or industry setting

• Internship experience in an industry setting

Additional Information

The Human Target Validation Core is an innovative research unit in Translational Biology (Research & Early Development) focused on advancing the human basis of therapeutic development.Our team is building a human tissue repository, conducting single cell multi-omics profiling of preclinical models & human tissues, generating novel human genetic data from patients, and building an integrated analytics platform to derive system biological insight.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.