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BASF
www.basf.comCompany Description: BASF Bioresearch Corporation (BBC) is a drug discovery and biologics manufacturing company that is part of BASF, one of the world's leading chemical companies.
Established in 1989, BBC is adjacent to the Worcester Biotechnology Park and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, 35 miles west of Boston. The 370,000-sq. ft. facility is located on a 30-acre landscaped site and houses 340 employees, with 140 devoted to drug discovery research.BBC's mission is to find new treatments for autoimmune disease and for prevention of trans-plant rejection. We are working toward the discovery of anti-inflammatory compounds that block production of certain cytokines and of novel immunosuppressive agents that inhibit signal transduction in immune cells. Other research projects target specific enzymes required for new blood vessel formation, because neovascularization is an important pathophysiological aspect of both arthritis and cancer. We also develop fully human monoclonal antibodies that block important mediators of the immune response as well as targets important in cardiovascular disease. We have succeeded so far in discovering five promising drug candidates that have entered clinical trials. The most advanced is named D2E7, a fully human monoclonal antibody against the cytokine TNF. D2E7 resulted from a close collaboration between BBC and Cambridge Antibody Technology (Melbourn, UK). Proprietary phage display technology was used to generate D2E7, the first fully human antibody against a human protein to reach clinical trials. We expect this new drug to be launched within 2-3 years and to become a major advance in the therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. At BBC, we believe that people are the basis for success in drug discovery. Our scientists come from around the world and enjoy an open atmosphere of professional collegiality. We assemble project teams across department lines and with other BASF sites. We collaborate with university researchers, form partnerships with small biotechnology research firms, and build strategic alliances with other major pharmaceutical companies. Our scientific achievements are presented at international meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Position Descriptions: Position: Post-Doctoral Scientist (T-214) The primary objective would be to delineate the role of a novel immunomodulatory cytokine in autoimmunity and sepsis. He/she will join a team of scientists interested in the roles of cytokines and immune cells in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. The responsibilities would include studies on release of the cytokine from immune cells, its effects on other immune cells, and the use of antagonists in modulating immune responses. These studies would be both in vitro, as well as in vivo in relevant models of inflammation/ autoimmunity.
Required Skills and Education: A PhD in Immunology, Pharmacology, or a related discipline, is required. Experience with tissue culture methods, flow cytometric techniques, immunoassays, and one or more in vivo models of autoimmunity/inflammation, as well as knowledge of immunological principles and methods, are essential.
Desired Skills: Pharmaceutical industry experience.
Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow (T-208)
We are looking for a post-doctoral fellow interested in a project to validate novel drug targets.
Required Skills and Education: Must have a recent Ph.D. and documented skills in molecular biology, protein purification/characterization and cell culture techniques. You are familiar with in-vivo models to investigate cytokine biology and have experience in immuno-histochemistry, in situ hybridization and FACS analysis. Additional requirements are excellent written and verbal communication and computer skills, and the ability to work well in a collaborative environment. Familiarity with software programs to analyze structural features of proteins is a plus.
Position: Post-Doctoral Computational Chemistry (T-194)
The tasks of this position are to develop, implement and validate simulation based free energy evaluation techniques for structure based drug design at BBC. The objective of this project is to integrate sophisticated simulation-based computational techniques into the structure based drug design process. The primary platform for this project will be the beowulf class PC cluster used by the modeling group in the chemistry department.
Required Skills and Education: The successful candidate
for this position has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, Physics or a related area and profound experience with computational tools. A strong background in statistical mechanics based simulations with particular emphasis on free energy methodologies and in addition, a programming background is required and preferably direct programming experience with a major simulation package such as AMBER or GROMOS. Familiarity with the UNIX/Linux computing environment is required. Additional skills such as scientific programming, scripting, web programming, database generation and maintenance, and the capability to successfully interact with chemists, biochemists and structural biologists are necessary. Therefore, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are imperative for interdisciplinary collaboration within project teams.
Desired Skills: Modeling experience. Capability to make major contributions to scientific literature and to interact productively with the intra- and extramural science community.
Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow (T-207)
Postdoctoral fellow in protein crystallography. The candidate will determine the structures of target proteins in small molecule drug discovery projects at BBC. The candidate will work within an established team, taking primary responsibility for protein crystallization and structure determination. He or she will develop or improve methods for crystallization of target proteins, as well as formation of cocrystals with inhibitor leads. The objective of the work is to evaluate the potential for discovery of specific leads and to provide structural information to accelerate inhibitor optimization.
Required Skills and Education: Ph. D. in Chemistry, Biochemistry or Biophysics.
Desired Skills: Experience in protein construct design, expression, purification, and characterization; protein crystallization, xray diffraction and structure determination.
Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow (T-200)
The individual will work with a group responsible for identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets for the development of fully human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. In this capacity the individual will play a critical role in first identifying critical mediators of inflammation/autoimmune diseases and second validating mediators as viable therapeutic targets. The individual will work in a multi-disciplinary research setting to understand the biology and pathology of the novel mediators of inflammation/autoimmune diseases.
Required Skills and Education: Individuals with a Ph.D. and documented skills in molecular biology, protein purification/characterization, cell culture techniques and the use of animal models to investigate biology/pathology of disease mediators are encouraged to apply. The individual must also be well-versed in word processing and data analysis software and must possess strong interpersonal and communicational skills.
Desired Skills: Experience in immuno-histochemistry, in situ hybridization and FACS analysis is desirable. Familiarity with bioinformatics programs to analyze structural features of proteins (in particular cytokines and cytokine receptors) and in the area of therapeutic antibody development.
Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow (T-209)
We are looking for a post-doctoral fellow interested in a project establishing novel approaches to the affinity maturation of recombinant human antibodies.
Required Skills and Education: Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry or immunology, have strong molecular biology skills and a good track record in library construction and screening: preferably also have experience with phage display technology. Additional requirements are excellent written and verbal communication and computer skills, and the ability to work well in a collaborative environment.