Principal Scientist, Discovery Immunology - Parvus Therapeutics

Principal Scientist - Discovery Immunology
Location: South San Francisco, CA (on-site)

Parvus Therapeutics Inc. 

Parvus Therapeutics Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing Navacims™, a platform technology based on foundational research published in 2016 (Nature 530:434), to treat autoimmune diseases. Parvus’ mission is to shift the treatment paradigm toward Navacim™-directed immune regulation, avoiding non-specific immune suppression associated with current therapies. Parvus’ innovative approach has the potential to benefit millions of patients suffering from debilitating autoimmune diseases and other chronic inflammatory conditions. Parvus is advancing a pipeline of proprietary drug candidates for multiple autoimmune indications through preclinical development and into the clinic. Parvus’ leadership team is experienced in successful drug discovery, development, manufacturing, regulatory approval, and commercialization.

About Navacims™ 

Navacims™ are a novel first-in-class nanomedicine designed to treat autoimmune disease by selectively modulating disease-specific cellular responses without impairing normal immunity. Navacims™ specifically target and act only on disease causing effector T cells, delivering a signal that programs effector T cells to differentiate into regulatory T (Treg) cells specific for self-antigens relevant to the patient’s disease. These disease- or tissue-specific Treg cells induce immunological tolerance to block undesired immune responses to self-antigens, while maintaining normal immune surveillance and activity. 

The Position

We are seeking a Principal Scientist to serve a key role in the Discovery Immunology Team, within the R&D Group, to leverage the Navacim platform for lead identification and validation.   

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the identification and selection of peptide/MHC complexes using the Navacims platform.
• Develop and execute fit-for-purpose binding and functional antigen specific T cell based assays to support lead clinical candidate selection as well as relevant rodent species surrogates.
• Generate tool tetramers for use in human and murine T cells.
• Collaborate with CMC, non-clinical, and translational teams to conduct non-GLP experiments fit for regulatory filing.
• Clearly present rationale and data at internal and external meetings representing Parvus.
• Participate in all aspects of laboratory operation and training, presentations, and organization.
• Comply with employee and environmental safety company guidelines.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements:  

• Ph.D. degree in Immunology or equivalent with at least 8 years of relevant post-graduate experience in human T cell biology; at least 3 years must be in industry setting.
• Deep knowledge of primary human T cell isolation and ex vivo functional assays including but not limited to peptide stimulation, mixed lymphocyte reactions, ELISPOT or equivalent technology, spectral flow cytometry, MHC tetramer generation and staining.
• Functional experience with viral transductions of primary mammalian cells and cell lines.
• Functional experience with protein purifications, modifications and expression optimization.
• Working experience of GLP and GCLP.
• Working knowledge of bioinformatics tools for in silico predictions.
• Experience mentoring all levels of research associates.
• Analytical problem solving and organizational skills are required to identify and resolve technical challenges.
• Excellent oral, written communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently in the laboratory and in cross-functional teams.
• Comfortable working collaboratively in a small, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to quickly adjust to shifting project demands and priorities.

The expected salary range for this role is $170,000 – $190,000. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, business needs, and other job-related factors permitted by law.

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