Gene Therapy Process Dev Co-Op

Gene Therapy Process Dev Co-op

The Therapeutics Development and Supply-Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (TDS-API) develops creative large molecule solutions to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The TDS-API Process Development organization is seeking innovative candidates with interest in Gene Therapy process development.

The Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are primary gene therapy platform for a variety of human diseases. The development of a robust and scalable chromatography purification process to separate empty and full AAV particles at large scale remains a challenge. The Co-Op will be responsible for leading a collaborative project to evaluate the use of MgCl2 (and alternatives) in the purification of AAV. Initial proof of concept studies shows that MgCl2 wash helps in removing empty capsids and allows a step gradient elution to achieve a high purity. The overall goal of this project is to better understand the effect that the MgCl2 (and alternatives) on the full/empty capsid binding and purification.

In this role, you will:

1. Learn how to use an AKTA chromatography system. This includes method writing, system control, and evaluation
2. Grow a general understanding of gene therapy process development, focusing on Tetracycline enabled self-silencing adenovirus (TESSA) technology, TESSA downstream purification and analytical tests used for capsid characterization.
3. Work with Subject Matter Experts to evaluate different high efficiency purification techniques
4. Train and operate in a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory
5. Learn good laboratory practices and data recording in Electronic Laboratory Notebooks.

Qualifications

• Be legally authorized to work in the U.S. and must not require sponsorship for employment visa status now or in the future (e.g. H1-B status).
• Be actively enrolled pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in an accredited college/institution and be in good academic standing.
• Minimum GPA of 2.8 is required. GPA over 3.0 is strongly preferred.
• Completion of Undergraduate Freshmen year at accredited University is required.
• Attention to detail and the ability to multi-task, prioritize and work efficiently to meet the demands of medicinal chemists and deliver on multiple projects simultaneously
• Availability to work full time (40 hours per week) during the duration of the co-op position.

Our required majors are:

• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Biomedicine - Medical biotechnology
• Biology
• Sciences-related major

Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies are equal opportunity employers, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.