Adaptive Neuroimmunology Senior Research Associate

Roche fosters diversity, equity and inclusion, representing the communities we serve. When dealing with healthcare on a global scale, diversity is an essential ingredient to success. We believe that inclusion is key to understanding people’s varied healthcare needs. Together, we embrace individuality and share a passion for exceptional care. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love.

That’s what makes us Roche.

In Roche’s Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development organization (pRED), we make transformative medicines for patients in order to tackle some of the world’s toughest unmet healthcare needs. At pRED, we are united by our mission to transform science into medicines. Together, we create a culture defined by curiosity, responsibility and humility, where our talented people are empowered and inspired to bring forward extraordinary life-changing innovation at speed.

The Position

Within Roche’s Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Neuroscience & Rare Diseases (NRD) represents a major focus area where we are committed to realizing our long-term vision of changing lives of patients with severe brain disorders. The position will have a strong focus on T cell immunity in the CNS. A major focus of the Neuroimmunology drug discovery team is to explore mechanisms leading to and resolving neuroinflammatory processes in order to develop novel therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. The successful candidate will work in an industry-leading Neuroscience department with an attractive portfolio of preclinical and clinical stage projects in CNS disorders. 

The opportunity

• Human and rodent CNS tissue handling, immunohistochemistry and characterization (incl. gene expression analysis) of immune cell infiltrates (e.g. T cells) and tissue-resident immune cells (e.g. microglia). 

• Characterization of lead compounds in neuroinflammatory and/or humanized in vivo models which requires animal handling, immunization, clinical scoring, tissue collection, analyses by flow cytometry, qPCR and histology 

• Characterization of lead compounds in human T cell or peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-based functional assays incl. readouts such as multiparameter flow cytometry and cytokine analysis

• Perform in vitro and in vivo pharmacology studies, development and establishment of cell based assays to evaluate and validate mechanisms of action and potency of compounds

• Closely work with multiple teams/labs across expertise groups and work independently with minimal supervision. Plan and execute experiments, analyze, interpret, accurately document and communicate data in team meetings.

Who you are:

• BSc/MSc in Life sciences (biology, biotechnology) or other relevant discipline, ideally with working experience in drug discovery in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry would be of advantage.

• Scientific expertise in T cell immunology and hands-on histology experience with tissue handling, processing (e.g. cryo-sectioning) and characterization of immune cell infiltrates and tissue-resident immune cells is essential.

• Broad hands-on experience with multiparameter flow cytometry, functional T cell assays using human PBMCs, cell sorting/isolation, fluorescence microscopy and molecular profiling approaches applied to cells and brain tissues (human and rodents) is essential.

• Certification for performing in vivo animal experiments (eg. LTK1) required. Expertise in in vivo animal dosing, perfusion, tissue collection and preparation for histology, biochemical and immunoassays.

• You independently design, execute, and analyze experiments. You have excellent organization, presentation and interpersonal communication skills with high fluency in English. You are a team player with a strong sense of accountability, willingness to learn and an enthusiastic proactive attitude.

Your Location

These positions are located in Basel, Switzerland

Our commitment

Roche commits to recognising talent and aptitude. We prioritise encouraging and supporting our employees on their personal journeys by providing a safe, creative space to help them reflect, make decisions and grow in their career.

We are confident that we find the most innovative solutions by gaining different perspectives, asking and answering hard questions, and challenging the status quo. Roche embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious yet enthusiastic way; we are devoted to building a team that represents a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

Who we are

At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity and diversity.

Basel is the headquarters of the Roche Group and one of its most important centres of pharmaceutical research. Over 10,700 employees from over 100 countries come together at our Basel/Kaiseraugst site, which is one of Roche`s largest sites. Read more.

Besides extensive development and training opportunities, we offer flexible working options, 18 weeks of maternity leave and 10 weeks of gender independent partnership leave. Our employees also benefit from multiple services on site such as child-care facilities, medical services, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as various employee events.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion, and strive to identify and create opportunities that enable all people to bring their unique selves to Roche.