Regulated Procedures Lead - Scientist II

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 – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

At DJS Antibodies, we aspire to create the next generation of antibody therapeutics and in doing so improving the prognosis for patients with life-changing immunological diseases and cancers. As a biotech company within AbbVie, we combine the agility, team spirit and scientific focus of a biotech with the reach and vision of a global pharmaceutical company. We have developed a number of drug candidates to date and are looking forward to growing our portfolio to have the biggest impact on patients’ lives. 

A critical part of achieving our vision is working with fantastic people, and as such we are looking for an enthusiastic and talented Scientist II – regulated procedures lead to join the team. For this role, candidates should be excited about working in a small, dynamic team; always keen to get involved with all aspects of research at DJS; be a team player.

The successful candidate will act as a lead scientist responsible for ensuring compliance for regulated procedures. Acting as a deputy PPL holder they will work closely with the PPL holder to maintain records and assist the team in devising study plans. The desired candidate will be responsible for training individuals on in vivo procedures and ensuring experiments are carried out successfully in accordance to study plans and regulations. In addition to on-site laboratory work they will be required to work with live rodent models and animal derived tissues in the off-site facility for up to 50% of time.  Acting as a designated individual/persons designated for the HTA licence, they will provide training to team members and ensure compliance with regulations. They will perform internal audits and liaise with the HTA with any required audits.

They will also act as a key member of the DJS discovery team, where they will contribute to the downstream monoclonal antibody discovery process using single B cell isolation techniques. They will devise experimental plans, analyse data and prepare presentations to key stakeholders.

At DJS, we want to foster innovative scientists performing cutting-edge science. A successful applicant will be a practical person who is organised, pays attention to detail, and efficiently gets the job done.

They will have many opportunities for scientific career development and improvement of their knowledge of a world leading R&D/drug development pipeline and the broader business both at DJS and within AbbVie. 

Successful applicant's key responsibilities

• Bringing energy, enthusiasm and positivity to the company
• Supporting PPL holder by acting as deputy. Ensuring compliance with PPL and associated UK home office regulations.
• Acting as designated individual/persons designated and ensuring compliance with the HTA
• Providing training in regulated procedures to other team members
• Animal model husbandry
• Performing experiments with live animals
• Collection of animal derived tissues
• Maintenance of cell cultures
• Transient protein expression with mammalian cell lines
• Work as a key member of the DJS discovery team
• Performing critical laboratory experiments and analysing the data to contribute to strategic decision making within DJS discovery
• Keeping up to date with developments in the literature in relation to technical aspects of drug discovery technologies
• Day-to-day laboratory management as part of the team e.g. maintaining a safe and clean working laboratory environment, re-ordering laboratory consumables
• Establishing and maintaining quality sample archives
• Gathering, analysing and presenting data from a variety of sources to the wider team and organisation
• Critical and impartial review of self and peer generated laboratory data
• Maintenance of laboratory experimental records
• Follow established procedures, protocols and study plans and recommend changes for refinement. Adhere to regulatory requirements.

Applicant’s required attributes

• A BSc of 2:1 level or higher with intercalated year in industrial/academic research and/or an MSc/MRes or higher degree, with 4-5 years lab experience in an industry setting
• A current UK PIL ABC licence (or equivalent) with 4-5 years experience in working with animal models.
• Experience in acting as PPL holder, deputy PPL holder, or having completed accredited training for these roles.
• Proven competencies in in vivo procedures in experimental rodents
  • For example: intravenous, intramuscular, intrapertitoneal, sub-cutaneous injections, blood sampling, schedule 1 methods, use of anaesthetics.
• Recent experience in providing training in in vivo techniques.
• Experience in acting as a designated individual for a HTA licence
  • Proven recent experience in: training individuals in HTA compliance, performing audits to ensure compliance.
  • Recent experience in preparing successful HTA applications
• Proven recent experience in
  • Performing in vivo experiments in experimental rodents
  • Working with ex-vivo single B cell antibody discovery platforms
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to drug discovery and drug development research
• Evidence of excellent organizational and interpersonal skills including
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
  • Ability to work efficiently with strong attention to detail
  • Ability to build effective working relationships
  • Laboratory method development
  • Ability to work flexible hours when required
  • Proven written and oral communicative ability
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Strong IT skills
• Desirable skills
  • Good knowledge of statistics
  • Molecular and biochemical techniques (such as; bacterial cell culture; flow cytometry; PCR; ELISA; protein expression and purification)
  • Mammalian cell culture

About DJS Antibodies

At DJS Antibodies as part of AbbVie our ambition is to contribute world class novel antibody therapeutics for the treatment of severe diseases into AbbVie's clinical pipeline. Our proprietary antibody discovery technology enables us to discover first in class antibodies to the key drivers of disease that have, until now, been intractable to drug discovery such as GPCR’s and other complex membrane and soluble targets.

Working at DJS will involve coming into a stimulating and entrepreneurial work environment with excellent exposure to industry-leading experts. Being part of a small team means that you will be exposed to all aspects of R&D and the broader business. You will benefit from working with a great team, a competitive remuneration package and significant opportunities for career development.

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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