Scientist, Translational Biology

This role is focused on non-clinical translational biology research related to Trotana’s oral anti-inflammatory therapeutic programs. The candidate will have at least 5 years of industry experience and will be responsible for design and execution of in vitro laboratory functional assays to understand biological mechanism of action, clinical indication selection, animal model systems and related experimental systems. Using cell biology and biochemistry, the successful candidate will develop, troubleshoot and validate a suite of functional assays, with the opportunity to shape experimental strategy in a fast-moving company.

The role will work together with other biology functions, including discovery, nonclinical pharmacology, toxicology and various employees/consultants to support the advancement of portfolio programs from discovery to clinical development.

• Assists supervisor with the development and/or implementation of cell-based and pharmacodynamic methodologies as required.
• Under limited supervision, develops, validates and implements primary phenotypic or secondary mechanistic cellular assays to determine cellular activity and mechanism of action for small molecule drug candidates.
• Conducts weekly or regular screening of cell-based assays to assess potency in ongoing research and development projects. Assays include but are not limited to: FACS based assays, growth inhibition, cytotoxicity (e.g., ADCC), ELISAs, cellular mechanism‑of‑action and reporter assays.
• Support pharmacodynamic studies process tissue samples (tissue homogenization, SDS‑PAGE and immunoblotting or other immunological detection method).
• Makes detailed observations, performs and verifies calculations.
• Prepares technical reports, summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses.
• Recognizes abnormalities in procedures and results and cooperates with supervisor to solve problems related to assigned tasks.
• Acquires an awareness of current scientific literature.
• Within the bounds of the position and company objectives, creativity, professionalism, and knowledge to solve problems in effective ways.
• Maintains concise, accurate and comprehensible written and electronic records as per Trotana’s policy.

• Ph.D. in immunology or related discipline with at least 5 years of hands‑on experience in biotech and/or pharma industry roles.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly learn and implement new experimental platforms.
• Extensive experience with a wide range of standard cellular, molecular biology and biochemistry techniques is essential, including cloning and manipulation of recombinant DNA, extraction and fractionation of nucleic acids and proteins from cells and tissues, immunofluorescence, western blotting.
• In‑depth experience with analytical and quantitative techniques such as flow cytometry, qPCR, qRT‑PCR, ELISA, HTRF, absorbance/luminescence/fluorescence plate assays.
• Extensive experience with culture and maintenance of mammalian cell lines and primary cells from various tissues, including familiarity with BSL‑2 viral vector systems.
• Experience in assay development, enzymology, biochemistry, cell biology, primary cell culture, co‑culture, stable cell line generation is strongly preferred.
• Experience in data analysis, interpretation, and visualization, particularly with large data sets.
• Experience with longitudinal and high‑content (96‑ and 384‑well format) imaging‑based assays, including cell culture, treatments, image acquisition and image data processing preferred.
• Attention to safety, good laboratory practice, and good documentation practice are essential.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills are essential.
• Comfortable in a fast‑paced startup environment and able to adjust workload and responsibilities based upon changing priorities.
• Able to manage multiple projects in parallel, including key participation on multi‑disciplinary project teams.
• A proven record of scientific leadership and innovation.

Salary range: $110‑150k/year

Trotana is a biotechnology company based in San Diego. In addition to a competitive compensation package with stock options, the company offers…