Title: Contract - Research Associate, Analytical Development
Location: Cambridge, MA
Reports to: Principal Research Associate, Analytical Development
About Vedanta Biosciences:
Vedanta Biosciences is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing medicines for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead assets include potential first-in-class oral therapies, VE303, in a Phase 3 trial for recurrent C. difficile infection, and VE202, in a Phase 2 trial for ulcerative colitis. Vedanta’s pipeline has been built using the company’s industry-leading product engine for the development of therapies based on defined consortia of bacteria grown from pure clonal cell banks. The product engine, supported by foundational IP, includes one of the largest libraries of bacteria isolated from the human microbiome, vast clinical datasets, proprietary capabilities in consortium design, and end-to-end CGMP manufacturing capabilities at commercial launch scale.
The Role:
Vedanta is seeking a research associate to join the Analytical Development Group, supporting the molecular biology team within Analytical Development. We are looking for an individual who is curious, intrinsically motivated, excited to collaborate, and an excellent communicator.
Here’s What You’ll Do:
- Contribute to development of assays for bacterial consortia potency, identity, etc.
- Perform routine molecular workflows such as DNA extraction, qPCR, PCR, DNA quantification
- Perform DNA extraction from cultured bacteria and stool samples
- Support clinical and in vivo sample management including shipping and receiving
- Perform library preparation for long read and short read sequencing
- Maintain excellent technical records and contribute to technical reports
- Utilize laboratory automation for high throughput workflows
Requirements:
- BS in a life science with 1+ year of experience in molecular biology or microbiology
- Experience with aseptic technique required
- Experience in a BSL 2+ lab preferred
- Experience with non-model microorganisms preferred
- Molecular biology laboratory experience required
- Experience using anaerobic chambers preferred
Vedanta is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person’s race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vedanta will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.
Vedanta Biosciences requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and newly hired employees must be fully vaccinated prior to their employment start date. Vedanta Biosciences will consider accommodations for individuals who are unable to be vaccinated against COVID-19 due to a qualifying medical condition or disability or a sincerely held religious objection.
Top Skills
What We Do
The trillions of microbes that call us home –the human microbiome – perform critical functions that preserve our health including helping develop our immune system, manufacturing nutrients such as vitamins, and harvesting energy from the diet. Alterations of the human microbiome are increasingly recognized as a key factor in autoimmune, metabolic, infectious and many other diseases.
For millions of years, humans have co-evolved with this community of microbes, communicating in an ancient language that holds critical clues about how autoimmune and infectious diseases develop. This language is based on a system of signals that our resident microbes use to successfully colonize us, such as byproducts of bacterial metabolism and factors that bacteria use to adapt to human niches. Recent discoveries have shown that most of these signals do not lead to disease, rather, they promote our long-term survival.
Vedanta is developing a novel class of therapies that modulate pathways of interaction between the human microbiome and the host immune system. Vedanta was co-founded by PureTech Health and a group of world renowned experts in immunology and microbiology
