Overview
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute seeks a chemistry lead scientist with experience in medicinal chemistry strategies through all stages of drug discovery, from Hit ID to DC nomination, in the newly established Center for Therapeutic Discovery. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced scientist with an interest in developing novel therapeutics to join our integrated drug discovery team on a wide range of projects with the Dana-Farber community.
In this role, you will devise medicinal chemistry strategies for the center to identify and develop novel small molecule therapeutics and execute them through CRO partners. You will work closely with molecular sciences and biology groups to best support the development of novel therapeutics. The role further entails responsibility for projects and deliverables, management of resources and communication with multiple stakeholders. You will interface with the Center leadership and with faculty and staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. To be successful, we expect you to have strong technical, communication, leadership and organizational skills.
We offer competitive compensation at the level of Research Scientist Track at the Dana-Farber, commensurate with experience, and opportunities for career advancement and growth, and be a member of a vibrant and inclusive research community.
Responsibilities
- Plan, prioritize and implement synthetic and medicinal chemistry strategies to achieve project goals
- Manage outsourced external chemistry resources at partner CROs and provide recommendations on emerging opportunities.
- Apply advanced medicinal chemistry principles to design high quality compounds, considering multiple parameters in parallel – e.g., potency, selectivity, SBDD, ADME/PK, physicochemical properties
- Provide clear communication of the medicinal chemistry strategy to cross-functional colleagues, scientific leadership and external collaborators, and present updates to key stakeholders – e.g., Leadership Team
- Collaborate with functional leads – e.g., computational chemistry, biology, biochemistry– to design appropriate process and drive program strategy
- Play a key role in shaping the scientific strategy of the center, working closely with the directors and other members of the leadership team.
- Drive a culture of urgency and scientific excellence with a focus on therapeutic impact.
Qualifications
- PhD degree in organic chemistry, in addition to 5+ years of medicinal chemistry experience in a pharmaceutical / biotechnology / academic drug discovery setting
- Established leadership in drug discovery with proven track record of solving complex, multiparametric medicinal chemistry challenges
- Demonstrated success in optimizing small molecule drug candidates for advancement to candidate nomination
- Ability to collaborate across disciplines and integrate cross-functional data to drive medicinal chemistry strategies
- Strong management in motivating external chemistry teams while creating an inclusive environment that encourages ideas, discussion, and debate
- Confident communicator who can clearly present to all levels both within the organization and externally
- Proven ability to manage timelines and resources to reach decisions / milestones
- An extensive track record of presentations, publications, and patents
Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brings together world-renowned clinicians, innovative researchers and dedicated professionals, allies in the common mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other groups as protected by law.
