Associate Scientist

JOB DESCRIPTION

Designation: Senior Research Associate / Associate Scientist

Job Location: Bangalore

Department: BBRC - Translational Medicine

About Syngene

Incorporated in 1993, Syngene International Ltd. is an innovation-focused global discovery, development, and manufacturing organization providing integrated scientific services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, nutrition, animal health, consumer goods, and specialty chemical industries worldwide. Syngene's clientele includes world leaders such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter, Amgen, GSK, Merck KGaA, and Herbalife. Its innovative culture is driven by the passion of its 4240- a strong team of scientists who work with clients from around the world to solve their scientific problems, improve R&D productivity, speed up time to market, and lower the cost of innovation.

Job Purpose:

We are looking for a highly motivated person, with demonstrable wet lab experience in  NGS techniques, high throughput genomics assays, preferably handling FFPE,  Blood and other samples for molecular and genomics workflows. The responsibilities include but not limited to genotyping and gene expression profiling (GEP), biomarker assay technology / platform selection, evaluation of in-house or vendor data, development, optimization, qualification/validation and execution of NGS and qPCR for translational medicine and clinical programs. The scientist must have a strong background in genomics and transcriptomics and its application in clinical programs. Experience in using NGS automation is a plus.

Key Responsibilities:

1. The individual will work to optimize, evaluate, and carry out platforms for genomics/transcriptomics assays as per requirements of study or as part of capability development. Assays include but not limited to genotyping, gene expression profiling (GEP) from different samples including FFPE and blood and other body fluidst.
2. To optimize, evaluate and carry out genomics/transcriptomics assays for programs with stakeholders from cross-functional teams.
3. Developing and qualifying the DNA and RNA-based assays for clinical and translational research.
4. Working with samples such as FFPE tissue samples for genotyping and high throughput expression assays.
5. Development and qualification of NGS, qPCR and ddPCR based assays.
6. Working as part of team to validate and qualify NGS protocols in Automated Liquid Handlers for high-throughput requirements.
7. Working on multiple projects, writing report, SoPs, and effective communication with stakeholders.  Ensuring quality of work and delivery of results in stipulated time frame.
8. Work closely with sample management, biorepsitory and clinical operation teams on programs.
9. Accurate record keeping of experiments and procedures (ELN and LIMS) as per established GCP guidelines

Educational Qualifications: M.Sc. / M.Tech in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology or Life Sciences

Technical/Functional Skills:

• Significant demonstrable experience or knowledge in Genomics with regard to genotyping or gene expression profiling applications
• Expertise and in-depth hands on experience is expected in genomics platforms  (NGS, qPCR, ddPCR, PCR) for assay development, qualification/validation, troubleshooting, and reviewing run QC data.
• Strong wet lab experience in NGS genotyping and expression analysis (specifically RNA-Seq, WES and WGS) from human/animal samples. Preference will be given with experience in the area of FFPE or liquid biopsy-based NGS assays.
• Demonstrable experience in qPCR-based genotyping and expression assays.
• Experience in basic bioinformatics tools for regular genomics work.
• Basic molecular and cell biology techniques such as nucleic acid extraction from FFPE, Blood, Saliva and other samples types, PCR, qPCR, Tapestation, Bioanalyzer, Qubit, Nanodrop.
• Must have strong organizational, collaborative, communication and presentation skills.
• Thrive in a highly interactive, fast-paced and dynamic team environment with agility and rigor.
• Experience in using Automated Liquid Handlers is advantage.

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Behavioral Skills:

• Strong commitment toward work and a high level of dedication, enthusiasm, and motivation
• Good speaking-listening-writing skills, attention to detail, proactive self-starter and team player.
• Ensure completion of experiments and generate accurate and reproducible data from experiments.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks and work on multiple projects simultaneously with comfortable working in a dynamic environment with changing requirements.
• Good oral and written communication and presentation skills

Equal Opportunity Employer:

It is the policy of Syngene to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable legislation or local law. In addition, Syngene will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.