In Vitro Scientist – Neuroscience (Rare Diseases)

Job Description

1 in 15 people worldwide could be affected by a rare disease: that’s more than 400 million people all over the world! Join Novartis and make a difference.

As a new Scientist in the Rare Diseases Unit of the Neuroscience (NS) department at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, you will have an opportunity to develop innovative medicines that can improve the lives and health of patients suffering from rare genetic diseases. We are looking for an experienced in vitro research associate to assume a hands-on role in a team responsible for neurobiology research focused on rare neurodevelopmental & neurodegenerative diseases using gene therapy & other approaches.
Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Conceiving, conducting, and analyzing experiments using a variety of in vitro model systems (e.g., mouse & human neurons, cell lines) and techniques in collaboration with other scientists in the Unit and across NS/NIBR
• Optimization and implementation of in vitro laboratory techniques (e.g., neuronal cell culture, immunocytochemistry, fluorescence imaging, image analysis, biochemistry, AAV gene therapy) to generate data for project teams
• Presenting data & interpretations to internal audiences and archiving results in electronic laboratory notebook

Diversity & Inclusion / EEO

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, cell biology, or a related discipline
• Five years of laboratory-based industrial or academic experience
• Proficiency with assay development and implementation in at least two of the following domains: nucleic acids (e.g., RT-qPCR), biochemistry (e.g., Western blotting, ELISA, MSD), immunocytochemistry (e.g., antibody labeling, fluorescence microscopy, image analysis), electrophysiology (e.g., multi-electrode array recordings of cultured neurons)
• Excellent problem solving, organizational, and experimental management skills
• Ability to recognize and troubleshoot experimental & data anomalies to maintain high data quality
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; can clearly communicate challenges and resource/support requests to assist with work

Desirable requirements:
• M.S. degree or equivalent in neuroscience, cell biology, or a related discipline; at least basic knowledge of CNS anatomy and physiology
• Five years of experience, at least half in an industrial setting
• Experience with mouse E18 cortex dissection and neuronal dissociation is a major plus
• Experience with high-throughput electrophysiology platforms (e.g., FDSS) is a major plus
• Experience with mouse models of neurodevelopmental and also neurodegenerative and/or psychiatric disorders are major pluses
• Experience with, or interest in learning, immunohistochemistry-related workflows is a plus: microtome/cryostat sectioning of brain tissue, free-floating or on-slide antibody labeling, confocal imaging & analysis
• Familiarity with statistical analyses and how to apply these to biological data
• Flexibility and willingness to occasionally adjust your hours as required by specific experiments

Why consider Novartis?
We believe the answers are found when curious, courageous and collaborative people like you are brought together in an inspiring environment. Where you are given opportunities to explore the power of digital and data. Where you are empowered to risk failure by taking smart risks, and where people who share your determination to tackle the world’s toughest medical challenges surround you.
We are Novartis. Join us and help us reimagine medicine!

Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodations: Individuals in need of a reasonable accommodation due to a medical condition or disability for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +1 (877)395-2339 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Vaccine Policy: While Novartis does not require vaccination at this time, for certain Novartis sites in the US all associates and candidates may be required to either upload an image of their COVID-19 vaccine card demonstrating proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 (or other similar evidence of vaccination) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken by the associate or candidate within the past seven days to enter any of our sites and/or customer office or healthcare facility, as well as prior to participating in other work related off-site meetings. Employees working in customer-facing roles must adhere to and comply with customers’ (such as hospitals, physician offices, etc.) credentialing guidelines, which may require vaccination.

As required by applicable law, Novartis will consider requests for reasonable accommodation for those unable to be vaccinated. This requirement is subject to applicable state and local laws and may not be applicable to employees working in certain jurisdictions. Please send accommodation requests to [email protected] .

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