Director/Senior Director, Disease Biology

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Job description

**Kelly Science and Clinical** is the world's most recognized brand in science and clinical staffing with more than 100 locations in North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Our scientists contribute to the research and development of the next generation of small molecule drugs, biologics and cellular therapies.

**Overview**

We seek a well-established senior leader to oversee the disease biology research group for one of our clients, a start-up biotech company in the San Francisco Bay Area that is leveraging AI for end-to-ed drug discovery. The company is committed to bringing first-in-class medicine for unmet medical needs in the areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune diseases, fibrosis, and aging-related diseases.

Specifically, the individual will build a research group dedicated to developing next-generation immunotherapy for cancer patients (e.g., gastric and liver cancer), autoimmune disease (e.g., IBD, RA, AS, and AS), and fibrosis (NASH and Cirrhosis). The successful candidate will work closely with external research collaborators (KOLs and medical institutes), internal bioinformaticians, data scientists, and a high-throughput functional validation team to carry large-scale translational studies in the above disease areas. The individual will lead the team to understand the underlying MOA of disease biology and treatment resistance, identify and validate novel therapeutic targets through systematic data mining, and subsequent in vitro and in vivo functional validation experiments.

The candidate has the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, highly collaborative startup setting with long-term, extensive funding support. The incumbent will have the opportunity to work with world-renowned biologists, clinicians, computational biologists, and AI experts to reshape every step of the drug development process.

**Responsibilities**

+ To define the company's overall strategy for disease indications, therapeutic targets, and product pipelines.

+ To oversee the company's disease research programs, including but not limited to leading large-scale translational studies, drug target identification, and validation.

+ To collaborate with other functional teams to accelerate the hit-to-lead drug discovery process.

+ To participate in scientific discussion and business decision-making related to collaboration and co-development programs.

+ To publish research results in peer-review journals.

+ To co-author future filing documents with regulatory agencies.

**Qualifications**

+ Ph.D., MD, or Ph.D./MD degree in immunology, cell biology, cancer biology, or related field

+ With extensive experience in human immunology, cancer immunotherapy, or translational research in the related field

+ Ability to play a strong leadership role for cross-functional collaboration with partners in genomics, AI, high-throughput assay, and drug design teams

+ Minimum of 10 years of translational research experience in either academic and/or industry settings (industry experience is preferred). Minimum 5 years of people management experience. Ability to collaborate, lead, influence, motivate and mentor others.

+ Demonstrated record of cutting-edge research in disease biology as evidenced by solid first or senior author publications, patent record or FDA filing experience

+ Experience in antibody drug development is a plus

+ Ability to communicate in Mandarin is preferred.

\#TJP2021_SPEC

**You should know:** Your safety matters! Vaccination against COVID-19 may be a requirement for this job in compliance with current client and governmental policies. A Kelly recruiter will confirm and share more details with you during the interview process.

**Why Kelly** **®** **?**

Kelly® Science & Clinical is your connection to premier scientific and clinical companies looking to hire talented people just like you. Every day, we match science professionals with dream jobs that fit their skills and interests-it's the way we think job searching should be. Nearly 100 percent of our science recruiters have a professional background/education in science, so we know a thing or two about the science market and how to get you noticed.

**About Kelly** **®**

At Kelly, we're always thinking about what's next and advising job seekers on new ways of working to reach their full potential. In fact, we're a leading advocate for temporary/nontraditional workstyles, because we believe they allow flexibility and tremendous growth opportunities that enable a better way to work and live (plus, did we mention we provide a ton of benefits ?). Connecting great people with great companies is what we do best, and our employment opportunities span a wide variety of workstyles, skill levels, and industries around the world.

Kelly is an equal opportunity employer committed to employing a diverse workforce, including, but not limited to, minorities, females, individuals with disabilities, protected veterans, sexual orientation, gender identity. Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law. ()