Associate Director/ Director, Translational Biology at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Lexington, MA

The Associate Director/Director, Translational Biology is a key member of Dicerna’s Biology teams, who will engage in multiple internal and partnered research and discovery efforts that aimed to develop therapeutics to treat patients with rare and common diseases. The Associate Director/Director will lead a group of in vivo and molecular biology scientists and researchers, who specialize in dissecting disease mechanisms, optimizing RNAi approaches and identifying potential biomarkers using preclinical rodent and other animal models. The successful candidate will not only responsible for making strategic decision but also working on hands-on animal studies with his/her direct reports. The ideal candidate will contribute to early discovery, development and through IND filing of clinical candidates.

Key Responsibilities

Provide scientific and technique leadership on target identification and therapeutic hypothesis validation to the Translational Biology group

Contribute to up-to-date knowledge on siRNA platform and diseases of interest and provide guidance on research directions to the Translational Biology group

Lead a team of internal scientists on experimental design, execution, data analysis and interpretation, as well as report generation

Provide mentorship to junior PhD scientists and associates and work closely with the internal functional groups and external partners to ensure robust and timely collaborations

Present on work products in departmental, cross-functional and external partner meetings

Contribute to and collaborate with other Dicerna teams in regulatory filings and scientific publications

Qualifications

PhD in Biology, Cell or Molecular Biology or related field with 8+ years post-degree experience and a minimum of 3 years of project and people management experience.

In-depth knowledge of state-of-the-art molecular and cellular biology technologies and methods

Demonstrated success in leading drug discovery programs and mechanism of action studies using rodent models

Familiar with basic animal surgery is a big plus

A true team player with high degree of energy, and a passion for contributing to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics

Excellence and successful track record in leadership, people management and managing interfaces with other functions and integrated teams