Associate /Sr Scientist – Gene Expression Switch Full-time

Gene Therapy Scientist

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Come join the rapidly expanding Gene Therapy team at Eli Lilly! We are responsible for inventing, characterizing, and advancing novel genetic therapeutics for a myriad of clinical applications. Our team works cross-functionally within our organization across multiple platform technologies and disease areas. This role may require up to 10% travel for conferences or training. This is a lab-based position located in Boston, MA 02210. Full-time on-site (40 hours/week).

Job Responsibilities

• Develop genetically controlled biological gene expression switches with external and internal partners to enhance the safety and tunability of gene therapy approaches.
• Screen and characterize small molecule libraries for optimal switch performance, including potency and selectivity.
• Optimize genetic switch architectures by engineering promoters, response elements, and transactivator systems to enhance dynamic range and minimize basal expression.
• Establish primary cell and cell line models to test switch functionality, dose-response curves, and temporal kinetics under physiologically relevant conditions.
• Translate optimized switches into animal models, assessing biodistribution, duration of expression, and therapeutic efficacy in disease-relevant tissues.
• Determine optimal dosing regimens, evaluate onset/offset kinetics, and establish correlation between small molecule exposure and gene expression levels.
• Troubleshoot translational challenges – Address issues such as immune responses, tissue-specific expression variations, and differences between in vitro and in vivo switch performance.
• Work with partners to understand PK/PD relationships and optimize delivery strategies for both the genetic switch components and small molecule regulators
• Maintain detailed documentation of scientific work in an electronic notebook.

Basic Requirements:

• B.S. and/or M.S. in biology or a closely related field
• 2+ years of relevant laboratory experience
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

• Significant aseptic cell culture experience, including gene therapy (e.g. AAV or LNP) experiments
• Experience isolating nucleic acids and proteins from cells and tissues
• Experience in in vitro design and evaluation of biological kill switches.
• Experience planning and implementing experiments independently
• Experience in laboratory techniques including DNA/RNA purification and analysis (qPCR, ddPCR, RT-qPCR, NGS), protein analysis (Simple Western Jess, ELISA, MSD, Octet) and flow cytometry
• Familiarity with primer design, sequencing preparation, and analysis
• Prior training in gene therapy, HIV, and Human HSC derived cell culture is a plus
• Experience using automation in workflows is a plus (i.e., liquid handling)
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot complex issues
• Strong organization, communication, and collaboration skills

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form for further assistance.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $71,250 – $187,000.

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees.