LEVATIO Employment Advertisement

Contact:  hyun-bae.jie@hotmail.com

1.     Principal scientist/Senior Scientist/Scientist-RNA Engineering

(LinkeIn posting:

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2478361767/?refId=CvOWCXlIQLuzAYOUJK3jDw%3D%3D)

Job description

Levatio Therapeutics is a San Diego based-biotech startup that develops therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune cell therapy for patients with cancers and autoimmune diseases through proprietary RNA technology to overcome limitation of currently used mRNA therapeutics. Our mission is to address diseases not accessible through existing technologies, bringing meaningful and breakthrough therapies to solve unmet needs in treating various human diseases. Levatio Therapeuticsis financially supported by ST Pharm, the mother company in South Korea.

We are seeking an exceptional researcher to join our team as a Principal Scientist, Senior Scientist, or Scientist to develop our best-in-class proprietary RNA therapeutics and delivery platform. The ideal candidate is a molecular biologist with an RNA-focused skillset. They will be able to conceive, design, and execute experiments; possess strong oral and written communication capabilities; demonstrate excellent collaboration & interpersonal skills; and be good at problem solving in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

These may include but are not limited to:

• Design and generate novel RNA therapeutics that encode a wide variety of proteins for treating cancers and autoimmune diseases
• Optimize RNA sequence and structure to enhance stability of RNA molecules and their translational efficiency
• Create rational hypotheses that integrate concepts of RNA folding, sequence identity, and functions
• Expand Levatio’s therapeutic pipeline by evaluating RNA constructs to express proteins of interest in relevant human and animal cell lines and animal models.
• Actively participate within project teams and collaborate across interdisciplinary R&D programs
• Maintain an electronic notebook record of performed studies.
• Independently design experiments, interpret data, and communicate findings in articulately written and oral communication skills
• Self-motivated, detail oriented, and manage multiple parallel laboratory activities with highly effectively time management.
• Manage external relationships for in silico, in vitro, and in vivo experiments

• Contribute to a positive and exciting work environment, contributing to a strong, entrepreneurial and creative culture.

Education & Qualifications

• PhD in molecular or cellular biology, biochemistry or related discipline with 2-4 (Scientist), 5-7 (Senior scientist), 8+ (Principal scientist) years of postgraduate or industry research experience.
• Expertise in several of the following:
• • Molecular biology of RNA
  • RNA sequence design
  • IRES translation mechanisms
  • Codon usage and optimization

RNA folding and structural elements

• Strong experimental skills, including tissue culture, human/mouse immune cell culture and functional assays, multi-color flow cytometry, ELISA, qPCR, immunoassay development.
• Some experience with project and team management preferred.
• Excellent organizational skills and a detail-oriented approach to the execution of experiments and record keeping is a requirement.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with peers and management, both internally and externally is required.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• 100% on-site work at corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA

• Occasional evening and weekend work will be required

The preceding job description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. Additional and incidental duties related to the primary duties may be required from time to time.

For consideration send cover letter and resume to: sarahsjie@gmail.com

2. Principal Scientist/Senior Scientist/Scientist – Immunology

(LinkeIn posting: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2504187447/?refId=pyxmxRt4RVy%2FxrWKWC4LUw%3D%3D)

Job description:

Levatio Therapeutics is a San Diego based-biotech start-up that develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune cell therapy for patients with cancers and autoimmune diseases through proprietary RNA technology to overcome limitation of currently used mRNA therapeutics. Our mission is to address diseases not accessible through existing technologies, bringing meaningful and breakthrough therapies to solve unmet needs in treating various human diseases. Levatio Therapeuticsis financially supported by ST Pharm, the mother company in South Korea.

We are seeking an exceptional researcher to join our team as a Sr. Scientist or Scientist to evaluate candidate therapies for cancers. The ideal candidate is an immunologist with demonstrated experience in cancer vaccine development and/or engineering immune cells. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing analytical methods in support of the development of novel, off-the-shelf, engineered NKT cells and iPSC-derived NKT cell therapies.The ideal candidate has a Ph.D. degree in an immunology-related field with relevant in vitro and in vivo laboratory experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. Substantial expertise with tumor syngeneic and xenograft models, BLI-imaging, tumor volume analysis, intravenous dosing, as well as in vivo adoptive cell therapy is highly desirable. They will be able to quickly learn and develop workflows, possess strong oral and written communication capabilities, demonstrate excellent collaboration and interpersonal skills, lead a team from the bench, and be good at solving problems in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

These may include but are not limited to:

• ·         Support the pre-clinical in vivo translational immunology group effort that utilizes tumor syngeneic or xenograft models for therapeutic cancer vaccine and CAR-T adoptive cell therapy

• Lead a team of scientists to develop of RNA therapeutics from the bench to preclinical models.
• Expand Levatio’s therapeutic pipeline by evaluating RNA constructs to express proteins of interest in relevant human and animal cell lines and animal models.
• Develop functional and phenotypic in vitro and in vivo immune assays.
• Independently design, plan, and execute scientific experiments in a fast-paced environment.
• Develop appropriate cell based assays to support compound screening and MoA studies in in vitro models. (ie. phospho-flow, proliferation assay, MLR, cytokine secretion, NK or T cell killing).
• Generate, interpret, and analyze data with a sense of urgency.
• Effectively communicate experimental plans and data; present to cross-functional R&D teams.
• Maintain an electronic notebook record of performed studies.
• Ability to solve technical problems in a logical and rationale manner.
• Highly collaborative, self-motivated, detail-oriented, project manager able to oversee multiple parallel laboratory activities with effective time management.
• Contribute to a positive work environment with an entrepreneurial and creative culture.

Education & Qualifications

• Passionate, adaptable scientist looking to make an impact in a biotech startup environment.

• PhD in biology, immunology, or related discipline with 2-4 (Scientist), 5-7 (Senior scientist), and 8+ (Principal scientist) years of postgraduate or industry research experience.

• Demonstrated knowledge of cancer vaccines, cancer immunotherapy and CAR-T cell engineering, including development of relevant in vitro and in vivo preclinical models.
• Model development to support MOA and TME discovery science as well as pharmacology efforts to advance projects as required.
• Extensive hands-on experience with all aspects of running tumor animal models
• Experience working with cancer vaccines and CAR-T cells is highly desired
• Experience establishing antigen-specific T cell lines or iPSC-derived NK or T cells is highly desired
• Proficiency in immune cell isolation (ie. T, B, NK cell) and functional characterization.
• Experience with immune cell assays is a strong plus. Extensive, hands-on knowledge of cell and molecular biology with demonstrated experience in handling and culture of human and animal whole blood, primary immune cells, and cell lines.
• Familiarity with BSL-2 protocols and best-practices.
• Experience with various tumor models to demonstrate mechanisms of action, including tumor growth curves, Flowcytometry analysis and RNA endpoints
• Demonstrated technical expertise in tissue culture, human/mouse immune cell culture and functional assays, multi-color flow cytometry, ELISA, ELISPOT, Luminex Multiplex assays, qPCR, immunoassay development
• Some experience with project and team management preferred.
• Excellent organizational skills and a detail-oriented approach to the execution of experiments and record keeping is a requirement.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with peers and management, both internally and externally is required.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• 100% on-site work at corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA

• Occasional evening and weekend work will be required

The preceding job description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. Additional and incidental duties related to the primary duties may be required from time to time.

For consideration send cover letter and resume to: sarahsjie@gmail.com

3. Senior Associate Scientist/Associate Scientist– Immunology

(LinkeIn posting: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2504187586/?refId=nBTbxcGrRqa6EsALOFwMcQ%3D%3D)

Job description:

Levatio Therapeutics is a San Diego based-biotech start-up that develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune cell therapy for patients with cancers and autoimmune diseases through proprietary RNA technology to overcome limitation of currently used mRNA therapeutics. Our mission is to address diseases not accessible through existing technologies, bringing meaningful and breakthrough therapies to solve unmet needs in treating various human diseases. Levatio Therapeuticsis financially supported by ST Pharm, the mother company in South Korea.

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Research Associate/Research Associate to support our translational science and in vivo experiment at Levatio therapeutics. Substantial expertise with tumor syngeneic and xenograft models, BLI-imaging, tumor volume analysis, intravenous dosing, as well as in vivo adoptive cell therapy is highly desirable. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing analytical methods in support of the development of novel, off-the-shelf, engineered NKT cells and iPSC-derived NKT cell therapies. The successful individual will work with teams to design and perform studies for in vivo efficacy, candidate selection and ex vivo MOA, pharmacodynamic and biomarker discovery. The successful candidate will work closely with discovery researchers to support target discovery and next generation of RNA tumor vaccines and adoptive cell therapies. In addition, the successful candidate will support in vivo assays necessary to support pipeline development for pivotal clinical studies. This role requires an individual with outstanding self-initiative, data analysis and communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

These may include but are not limited to:

·         Support the pre-clinical in vivo translational immunology group effort that utilizes tumor syngeneic or xenograft models for therapeutic cancer vaccine and CAR-T adoptive cell therapy

·         Model development to support MOA and TME discovery science as well as pharmacology efforts to advance projects as required

·         Responsible for collection, analysis and interpretation of experimental data

·         Design and perform rodent dosing studies, in vivo candidate selection, blood and tissue sampling, surgeries and isolation of tumor infiltrating immune cells for MOA as required

·         Support pipeline development for pre-clinical studies

·         Manage internal resource allocation and external collaborations

·         Responsible for working with team members to draft animal protocols and then coordinate studies with cross-functional teams

·         Participate and present data during internal research

·         Follow laboratory safety guidelines and practices

Education & Qualifications

·         B.S. (Associate Scientist)/Masters (Senior Associate Scientist) in oncology, biotechnology or related field with 2+ years of relevant industry experience

·         Strong background in tumor biology, immunology and in vivo tumor model development including human xenograft models and development of novel models to solve MOA

·         Extensive hands-on experience with all aspects of running tumor animal models

·         Experience with various tumor models to demonstrate mechanisms of action, including tumor growth curves, Flowcytometry analysis and RNA endpoints

·         Experience working with cancer vaccines and CAR-T cells is highly desired

·         Experience establishing antigen-specific T cell lines or iPSC-derived NK or T cells is highly desired

·         Experience with immune cell assays is a strong plus. Extensive, hands-on knowledge of cell and molecular biology with demonstrated experience in handling and culture of human and animal whole blood, primary immune cells, and cell lines.

·         Familiarity with BSL-2 protocols and best-practices.

·         Demonstrated technical expertise in tissue culture, human/mouse immune cell culture and functional assays, multi-color flow cytometry, ELISA, ELISPOT, Luminex Multiplex assays, qPCR, immunoassay development

·         Demonstrated ability to work in collaboratively in a cross functional environment

·         Excellent organizational skills and a detail-oriented approach to the execution of experiments and record keeping is a requirement.

·         Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with peers and management, both internally and externally is required.

·         Computer skills: detailed knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, GraphPad Prism, and FlowJo

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• 100% on-site work at corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA

• Occasional evening and weekend work will be required

The preceding job description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. Additional and incidental duties related to the primary duties may be required from time to time.

For consideration send cover letter and resume to: sarahsjie@gmail.com

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status

To all recruitment agencies: Levatio does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, or Levatio employees. Levatio is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.