Senior Scientist II - Imunobiology

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.co.uk. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. 

DJS-AbbVie is an AbbVie R&D hub located in Oxford, created following AbbVie’s acquisition in 2022 of DJS Antibodies. As part of AbbVie, we aim to develop new medicines that improve the lives of patients with immunological diseases. 

To achieve this, we have built and are now expanding an R&D presence in Oxford that integrates drug design, human-centric biology and mechanistic clinical testing. We have discovered and developed multiple novel pipeline candidates in immunological diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, and hidradenitis suppurativa through our onsite capabilities in antibody discovery and translational biology. We also act as a UK and European hub for the wider AbbVie R&D organisation, uncovering novel biology and advancing late-stage assets to the clinic through collaboration with top-tier academic and biotech partners in Oxford and beyond. This hub model has already delivered several first-in-class drug candidates and clinical assets, supported by a broad network of local collaborations spanning drug discovery technologies, novel disease biology, and innovative clinical trial approaches. The breadth of innovative activity taking place here makes this a unique place to work and a vital part of AbbVie’s ambition to turn science into cures. 

Purpose:

The role reports into the most senior immuno-biologist on site in Oxford (the Principal Scientist II, Immunobiology). The mission of the Oxford Immunobiology group is to uncover and validate novel biology and targets coming from external academic collaborators, as well as internal ‘reverse translation’ clinical sample datasets, and ensure that the best targets are translated into new discovery programs. To achieve this the Oxford Immunobiology group be deeply integrated across a range of diverse teams and disciplines. Within AbbVie we must be seamlessly integrated with clinical development, clinical sciences, precision medicine, and foundational immunology groups. Outside AbbVie, we must work closely with the academic clinicians and human-centric biologists who work most closely with the patients who suffer with disease. The purpose of this role is to drive these relationships at a scientific level. You will be the AbbVie lead for numerous academic collaborations spanning post-doctoral projects and human cohort and clinical dataset collaborations, and be responsible for keeping projects scientifically aligned to AbbVie priorities and also identify gaps in the research that can be filled through internal or external experimentation. You will be responsible for monitoring developments in these external projects and communicating the findings to AbbVie colleagues across AbbVie Oxford and the wider R&D organisation including colleagues in Precision Medicine, the Genomics Research Centre, and Immunology Discovery Research. You will also be an important immuno-biology leader on the Oxford site, co-leading the cross-functional enabling biology working group and shaping the array of biological capabilities, deciding what to build on-site, what to externalise, and when to rely on collaborators in other AbbVie research sites. You will also be expected to supervise and mentor junior team members from across the Oxford site, including the Immunobiology group and the Novel Therapeutics group.

In this role, you will gain a unique degree of exposure to a very wide array of industry and academic teams working on clinical sciences and human-centric biology and will directly shape the AbbVie pipeline through the new targets we work on, as well as the positioning of later stage programs. You will have the freedom to propose new ideas and projects and decide on the best channels for communicating new findings, with guidance from your line manager as well as the Director, Partnerships here in Oxford.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure maximal scientific value and pipeline impact accrues from various external collaborations in Oxford by building peer-to-peer relationships with the external scientists doing the work, and sharing findings with colleagues across the Oxford site and the wider R&D organisation.
• Act as a scientific bridge between the Oxford Immunobiology group and various stakeholder groups including the rheumatology, gastroenterology and respiratory disease area teams as well as precision medicine and the genomics research centre.
• Propose orthogonal approaches for the Oxford-based immunobiology team to validate observations in clinical datasets and primary tissue assays.
• Co-lead the Enabling Biology cross-site working group, ensuring the right biological capabilities exist across the site. Propose and establish key assays, models and capabilities for team members to make use of.
• Lead and contribute to biological pathway deconvolution and the development of target validation packages to support program entry into the AbbVie portfolio.
• Supervise lab-based scientists across the Oxford site including from Immunobiology and Novel Therapeutics.
• Spend a portion of time leading and working from the bench.
• Develop a deep understanding of AbbVie Immunology’s research strategy.
• Engage with the literature and attending conferences to maintain deep understanding of target and disease biology.
• Validation of tools to support pathway deconvolution and target validation.
• Contribute ideas and suggestions to all AbbVie Oxford programs.

• Extensive experience in a relevant field: PhD or equivalent and 4+ years experience, or Bsc and 12 years experience, including some industry experience.
• Experience of matrixed project leadership.
• Detailed working knowledge of key immunological techniques:
  • Primary cell culture and functional in vitro/ex vivo assays, with at least one of the following: fibroblasts or other mesenchymal cells, myeloid cells or lymphocytic cells
  • Flow cytometry
  • Fluorescence microscopy
• At least two years of practical experience establishing and extracting insights from either complex in vitro model systems, or in vivo models.
• Have conducted research into at least one immune-mediated inflammatory disease.
• Experience in deconvoluting biological pathways or formal target validation work.

Desirable qualifications:

• Practical experience of advanced techniques such as spectral flow cytometry, automated and high-content imaging.
• Practical experience with ‘omics technologies and interpretation of results: bulk RNAseq, single cell RNA seq, proteomics, spatial transcriptomics, etc..
• Experience working with and establishing explant/biopsied-tissue based bioassays.
• Building and maintaining collaborative networks of researchers across multiple organisations
• Working within an industrial setting on a drug development program
• Establishing assays with primary cells, working with organoids or organ on a chip models
• Performing high-throughput assays
• Working with contract research organisations
• Antibody binding techniques; ELISA, FACS, SPR etc.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

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