Director of Biology

Job summary:

The Director of Biology is a leadership position on an agile, high-performance research team. This individual will report directly to the C-suite and will be responsible for all Transcera’s in vivo R&D activities, including translational PK/PD studies and preclinical studies in animal models of disease. In this role, you will lead the Biology team and oversee assay development, compound screening, and other internal research activities. You will drive our biology program forward by establishing in vivo platform validation, demonstrating platform differentiation, and contributing to clinical strategy. Additional responsibilities include:

• With leadership, define preclinical research program goals and metrics

• Evaluate and support selection of new targets suited for Transcera’s platform

• Establish and maintain strong collaborations with internal and external stakeholders, including scientific advisors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

• Design in vivo pharmacology studies for the identification of PK/PD relationships and drive execution through CRO partners

• Oversee internal in vitro and cell-based assay development and screening, and provide input to chemistry leads on compound designs and needs

• Drive preclinical programs from inception through IND with scientific excellence and urgency

• Mentor and inspire team members and foster extensive cross-functional collaboration

Qualifications:

• PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or a related field

• 8+ years of industry drug discovery experience, including a minimum of 4 years in a managerial capacity

• Experience advancing peptide/protein/oligonucleotide drugs from concept through IND-enabling studies, with emphasis on design and execution of in vivo pharmacology studies

• Strong leadership skills with a track record of successfully managing, mentoring, developing, and motivating scientific teams

• Proven ability to think strategically, solve complex problems, and drive scientific innovation

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a track record of effectively collaborating across functions and with external partners

Company overview:

Transcera is a founder-led, venture-backed biotech company on a mission to unlock the potential of biologic medicines for people living with chronic disease. Our core technology is a novel lipid conjugation platform based on discoveries made by Harvard professor and Transcera co-founder Dr. Wayne Lencer and colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital. The platform harnesses endosomal sorting of sphingolipids to overcome inherent limitations of biologic medicines. We are a Seed stage company. Our investors include Xora Innovation, Digitalis Ventures, Pear VC, and KdT Ventures. We are based at LabCentral in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.