Senior Scientist, PK/PD Modeling - 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 – 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 Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

The AbbVie portfolio consists of several marketed products in areas including eye care, immunology, oncology, virology, and women’s health as well as a pipeline containing multiple promising new molecules being studied in hundreds of clinical trials or advancing from Discovery into Development. AbbVie is a global organization with US research sites in Boston (Cambridge and Worcester, MA), Chicago (North Chicago, IL), and the San Francisco Bay Area (South San Francisco, CA). The biotherapeutics portfolio is comprised of diverse and tailored modalities including mono- and bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, antibody fragments, gene therapies and cell-based therapies.

The Quantitative, Translational and ADME Sciences (QTAS) group is searching for a Senior Scientist to provide mechanistic and translational modeling and project support in all disease areas, informing decision-making in both small and large molecule projects from discovery through the early stages of clinical development. The candidate will establish innovative translational modeling approaches, such as mechanistic PK/PD or systems modeling, across disease and therapeutic areas, as well as provide QTAS project support enabling translation of assets from Discovery into early Development. The position requires close collaboration with Discovery and Development project teams, clinical pharmacology, and other stakeholders, to develop and execute QTAS and PK/PD strategies necessary to facilitate the advancement of our pipeline.

This position offers the flexibility to be based onsite in North Chicago, South San Francisco, or Worcester, and requires a minimum of three days per week on-site.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement innovative, quantitative analyses and strategies for translational modeling across Discovery and Development projects
• Liaise with Discovery biology, pharmacology, toxicology, biomarker, QTAS and clinical scientists to generate data and knowledge supporting the generation and implementation of translational models
• Establish and maintain effective collaborations with key peer and team stakeholders within QTAS, Discovery and Clinical to facilitate knowledge and data integration for target prioritization, biomarker selection, candidate selection, guidance in (pre)clinical study design, human dose prediction and calculation of therapeutic index
• Effectively communicate on strategies related to drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and translational modeling and simulation 
• Maintain awareness of emerging literature and science in computational approaches and applications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors (B.S.), Masters (M.S.), or Doctorate (Ph.D.) in in chemical, mechanical, or biomedical engineering; applied mathematics; quantitative pharmaceutical sciences or a related field, with typically 10-13 (B.S.), 8-11 (M.S.), or 0-5 (Ph.D.) years of pharmaceutical industry experience
• Hands-on experience with relevant modeling software and programming languages including MATLAB/SimBiology, R, Python, WinNonLin/Phoenix, etc. is required
• Understanding of small or large molecule drug modalities and relevant analytical methods for measuring drug and biomarker levels in preclinical and clinical study samples is highly desired
• Experience in working with AI/ML frameworks, in relevant applications such as QSAR and predictive biomarker/endpoint models to interface with mechanistic PK/PD models is highly desired
• Passion for data analysis, solving technical problems and applying new technologies to further scientific goals and answer key scientific questions enabling informed decision-making
• Publication record demonstrating PK/PD or systems modeling examples is highly desired
• Highly-motivated, self-driven and results-oriented person with excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of both leading and being lead
• High degree of flexibility in adapting to different projects and personalities as well as excellent networking and relationship-building skills (both internal and external) required
• Must have strong communication skills and the ability to effectively communicate with both internal and external stakeholders, and to audiences of diverse backgrounds
• Prior experience in an experimental in vitro or in vivo biology field is desired
• Interest in developing skills to support projects as a QTAS project representative in future is highly desired

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctorate (Ph.D.) in chemical, mechanical, or biomedical engineering; applied mathematics; quantitative pharmaceutical sciences or a related field, with 4 years of pharmaceutical industry experience

Key Leadership Competencies:

• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functionally with partners outside of team to enable higher performance
• Learns fast and can change course quickly when necessary
• Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo
• Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement
• Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality

Position will be filled at level commensurate with extent of education, experience, and accomplishment. Senior Scientist I or Senior Scientist II.
 

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

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• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.​

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​

• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​

• This job is maybe eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs​.

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Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. ​

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AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community and embracing diversity and inclusion.  It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html 

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

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