Vertex Spring 2025 Co-op, Exploratory Biology (Boston, MA)

Job Description

The Vertex Co-op Program offers students the opportunity to learn about the pharmaceutical industry from a hands-on perspective. You will be working closely with and learning from some of the brightest people in the industry. When you join our co-op program you should not be surprised to see that our environment is one that is innovative and team oriented, where collaboration is not just a word, and "we are relentless" is in everything we do. Students can expect to be challenged by their project plan, connect with other co-ops,and feel valued by the Vertex community. Not only will co-ops learn about their day-to-day tasks through their specific work assignments, but they will interact and have exposure to our organizational leaders and their teams.

Job Summary:

This co-op position will be within the Exploratory Research group of Boston Research and will focus on developing cell-based assays for our early neuromuscular disease programs. The student in this position will be utilizing patient-derived cell lines and laboratory automation equipment to create high-throughput experiments that will be used to help crack the biology underlying serious diseases with significant unmet medical need, as well as characterize and prioritize early small molecule drug candidates for treating these diseases. In the laboratory, the student will maintain human cell lines in tissue culture, plate cells for experiments, dose cells with selected small molecules and collect population-based luminescent/fluorescent reporter and/or PCR measurements. The student will also be responsible for maintaining thorough documentation, analyzing data and reporting conclusions. A successful project will result in the development of a reliable, high throughput assay that will be used to profile the mechanism of action of drug candidates and prioritize drug candidates for further development. It is essential that a student in this position have independent mammalian cell culture experience, as well as some previous research experience. Preference will be given to candidates with familiarity with stem cell culture, experience running experiments in high-density plates and/or utilizing laboratory automation. The successful candidate will be integrated into a larger disease-specific exploratory biology project team, will contribute to discussions on the overall project and will gain valuable laboratory, research and professional experience that will be broadly applicable to research positions within the pharmaceutical industry.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain multiple mammalian cell lines within tissue culture and re-plate cells into high-density plates for experiments
• Become proficient in utilization of automation equipment
• Independently collect, analyze and report luminescent, fluorescent and/or PCR data
• With minimal oversight run cell-based assays including plating, dosing and data collection, analysis, interpretation, documentation and reporting
• Act as a thought partner in hypothesis generation and experimental design
• Contribute to broader team discussions, propose new ideas/insights and assist in supportive laboratory and/or analytical work as needed
• Develop into a contributing team member within the Exploratory Research group

Qualifications:

• Be within one year of completing undergraduate, masters or Ph.D. in a biology-based program
• Have practical hands-on laboratory experience including in vitro cell work
• Some academic and/or industry research experience
• Strong interest in disease biology/therapeutic development
• Self-motivated with a strong foundation in a biology-related discipline
• Able to produce meaningful, accurate and timely results when working semi-independently
• Must have rigorous attention to detail and be ability to adapt to a fast-paced environment
• Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential
• Alignment with Vertex core values
• Undergraduate candidates should have a strong demonstrated record of hands-on laboratory experience and data processing
• Graduate candidates should have a demonstrated record of increasing scientific independence
• History of publication of cell-based data
• Familiarity with automation and robotic instrumentation (BioTek, Momentum, IMX, QuantStudio or similar)
• Programming knowledge
• Permanent legal authorization to work in the United States
• Candidate must be enrolled in an advanced degree program if graduating before May 2025
• Candidate must be available to work full-time, 40 hours per week from January - June 2025

Program Dates: January - June 2025, Full Time

This job posting is for a temporary role with a third-party agency partner that provides services to Vertex. The individual selected for this role will be offered the role as an employee of that third-party agency; compensation, medical benefits, fringe benefits and other terms and conditions of employment shall be presented by the third-party agency upon offer.

Company Information