Job Description

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNL) is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and operated by the prime contractor Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. FNL is responsible for pursuing a unique mission in translational and applied biomedical research that is unsuitable for academia, the pharmaceutical industry, or other federal contractors. This position in is ideally suited for a person who is interested in applied Research & Development. The selected candidate will join the Investigative Toxicology Laboratory (ITL) located at the NCI-Frederick campus.

The mission of the ITL is to support the NCI Toxicology and Pharmacology Branch with anticancer drug development programs. ITL develops and implements mechanism-based, human-relevant, in vitro assays with cutting-edge technology to improve translational and predictive power of assessing organ toxicity of oncological therapeutic candidates early in the discovery and development pipeline, and to screen compounds for remedies that effectively prevent or reverse chemotherapeutic-induced organ toxicity.

KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide scientific and program leadership including defining in vitro strategies to investigate cellular toxicities that complement the mission of DTP to discover, develop, and characterize new anticancer drugs and their molecular targets
• Identify potential liabilities (cardiotoxicity, bone marrow toxicity, neurotoxicity, etc.) and inform hit-to-lead and lead optimization
• Lead the integration of toxicology program efforts into the overall mission of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD)
• Serve as the key thought leader, implement experimental strategies, and direct the Laboratory's portfolio of cell-based cytotoxicity assays
• Responsible for evaluation and strategic implementation of established in vitro toxicology tools that enable high content evaluation, while developing and establishing new assays based on novel findings of toxicological mechanisms from the extramural community
• Responsible for leading and conducting in vitro investigations to understand important toxicological findings arising from preclinical evaluations and first-in-human clinical trials of investigational agents
• The position will provide senior scientific leadership and be a key contributor to internal project teams and to the discovery and development project teams of the NCI's NExT Program

• Possession of a PhD degree (e.g., PhD, DVM, and/or DSc) from an accredited college or university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in a field appropriate to toxicology/pharmacology or eight (8) years of related experience. Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency
• In addition to education requirements, a minimum of twelve (12) years of post-graduate experience
• At least five (5) years at a Senior Scientist level or equivalent
• Five (5) or more years of managing complex, multi-faceted programs
• Extensive experience in the investigation and assessment of adverse drug effects, including analysis of modulation of protein and/or gene function using advanced biochemical, biophysical, in silico, molecular biology or other relevant analytical techniques, and experience with complex data analysis and data interpretation
• Track record of experience with validation and application of established assays and the development of new ones with robust analytical performance, including peer recognition (authored publications in peer reviewed journals, group leadership experience in industry, platform presentations at national meetings, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to convert toxicological questions into experimental investigations of molecular mechanisms using relevant assays, and they must have excellent verbal and written communication skills for clearly presenting and articulating toxicological findings and principles to project teams and more general audiences
• Experience managing a scientific laboratory, supervising, and leading by example
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

• Track record of accomplishments in investigative toxicology including a demonstrated ability to integrate and leverage investigative toxicology and screening toxicology to create a strategically positioned laboratory program
• Knowledge and experience using cutting edge new assays and investigative systems
• Ability to convert newly discovered mechanistic toxicology information into robust screening assays that can be transferred back to the community as enabling technology
• Laboratory experience with targeted agents for cancer
• Experience working in a Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) environment and under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• This position is subject to working with or have potential for exposure to animal(s) and/or animal material(s)
• This position is subject to working with or have potential for exposure to infectious material, requiring medical clearance and immunizations
• This position is subject to working with or have the potential for exposure to laser emissions, requiring medical clearance
• This position may require continuous or intermittent exposure to and exertion in environmental conditions such as working outdoors, temperature extremes, humidity extremes. etc. as part of the job