Research Associate, Pre-Clinical Vector Design

Research Associate, Pre-Clinical Vector Design

New York, NY

Your mission

We are searching for a curious individual who is comfortable multitasking while working on various aspects of our platform. In this role, you will be an essential part of an interdisciplinary team developing and testing the efficacy and safety of these therapeutics in mouse models and iPSCs.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Molecular Characterization: Perform routine DNA/RNA extraction from diverse tissues and cells, followed by qPCR/ddPCR for biodistribution and Western Blotting/ELISA for protein expression analysis.
• Cellular Assays: Maintain mammalian cell cultures and perform microscopy and/or flow cytometry to evaluate expression and therapeutic impact in disease-relevant models.
• In Vivo Integration: Support the in vivo team with tissue processing, molecular follow-up, and behavioral assays depending on animal handling proficiency.
• Sequencing Workflows: Prepare NGS libraries for transcriptomic studies to support our machine learning-driven design process.
• Data Processing: Analyze and quantify results using various analytical software (GraphPad Prism, FlowJo, CellProfiler).
• Documentation: Maintain a detailed and accurate electronic lab notebook (Benchling) and present data to the interdisciplinary design team.

Required Qualifications

• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, or a related field.
• Experience: 1–3 years of laboratory experience in a research or industry setting.
  • Strong proficiency in molecular biology (Western Blotting, ELISA, RNA/DNA isolation, NGS library preparation, and qPCR).
  • Strong aseptic technique and mammalian cell culture experience.
    • In Vivo Skills: Basic experience with mouse handling, dosing, or tissue necropsy.
    • Therapeutic Area: Familiarity with AAV biology or muscle/CNS disease models.

Why us?

• Contribute to the development of bespoke medicines for CNS and muscle diseases.
• Work within a state-of-the platform that merges wet-lab biology with computational machine learning.
• High-impact role with the opportunity to see therapies move from design toward the clinic.

About us

MeiraGTx is a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing potentially curative treatments for patients living with serious diseases. We currently have six programs in clinical development including three ocular indications, a salivary gland condition, and a Parkinson’s disease program. Our initial focus on diseases of the eye, salivary gland and central nervous system is based on the significant unmet medical need coupled with the high potential gene therapy has to provide meaningful clinical benefit in these areas. With headquarters in New York and London, our global footprint provides us the opportunity to partner with leading institutions around the world, allowing us to deepen our understanding of diseases and their progression.

Our team was built with deep expertise in gene therapy development, allowing us to efficiently advance our programs from preclinical to clinical development. Our core capabilities in viral vector design and optimization and gene therapy manufacturing give us a differentiated approach to developing gene therapies. Additionally, we are developing proprietary technology to potentially enable innovative gene therapy treatments whose expression can be turned on and off with an easily administered small molecule. We believe temporal control of gene therapy products has the potential to transform the gene therapy landscape.

Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, completed in early 2018, was designed to meet global regulatory requirements, including the current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) required by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The 29,000-square foot facility has the flexibility and capacity to produce sufficient product for all our clinical trials and will scale to commercial capacity.