In Vivo Research Associate, Oncology

Reference: 629039Posted: 2026-08-10Location: South San Francisco, CaliforniaCompany: Planet Pharma GroupContact: ApplicationsEmail: View email address on click.appcast.io/1 – Refreshing this search, they don’t have anyone in play Emphasizes hands-on open surgery skills in mice.Surgery experience (for ex. liver injections, not just looking for brain surgery which is more neuro). Ideally some industry (also not a deal breaker if they have strong surgery). They need to want to do bench work, they need hands on work, everyone needs to produce data here since they are start up.Prior feedbackMost applicants list tumor model establishment, such as CDX and PDX tumor models, as their technical/surgical skills on their CVs, but 80% of these are just subcutaneous tumor cell injections, which is easy to perform and is not considered surgery. They also value intravenous dosing skill (much harder than subcutaneous injection and intraperitoneal injection) because their therapy is administered via mouse tail vein. Qualifying questions How many years of work experience do you have with rodent surgery?Note, we are the only agency on this. Please be careful about sharing company detail before you talk to someone – we want to try to stay exclusive on it please. They are in the process of changing their name to Pantheon (fmly Pattern Biosciences – the correct website it – – based in San Francisco) Market rate with equity (no bonus) – there is some flex here for the right candidateOnsite Relo and visas considered case by caseArea companies that do ADC/related Oncology work to source from: Genentech, Sutro, NGM, CytomX Therapeutics, Audentes Astellas, Bolt, Exelixis, Adcentrx, Aarvik Therapeutics, Solve Therapeutics, AnwitaIntake notes: HM – Linling Shen – She is one of the founders/VP and responsible for oversight/management of in vivo studies, she is an immunologist by training, PhD in US Immunology and moved to Switzerland to work on translational aspects with the other founder of the company. Background: Company is currently ~20 ppl., 3 founders are Switzerland and is research based. They are looking to take their therapy through IND and clinical trials. They are building out the team and creating a path to the clinic right now.Looking for innovators who are low ego, humble, fast learners, who what to learn, down to earth, quick to learn, utility players. The right person isn’t afraid of the stage they are in as a company – they should be excited about this as an opportunity to be on the ground floor of a growing team. Someone who wants to work in a nimble environment, grow and be hands on. This is an exciting time to join the team – their technology is really cutting edge, biomolecular computing, and a chance to get in early/ground level. Technology is to use DNA sequences, send them into the body systemically to be carried to the cells through AAV – treatment goes into all cells and use computational logic to make if/then statements and release therapy or not. The DNA sequence creates circuits of sensors to release the therapy, and focused on cancer right now. Culturally the team is great, they are very welcoming. They will get the chance to start small as part of a nimble team, will get a range of in vivo workstreams, growing organization. Incredible investors who believe in the mission. They are trying to bring the science behind drug dev and computational AI – the vision is a complete change to how they think about medicine, design a drug around a patient. They have a long term, ambitious vision. Will have high visibility and potential to grow. The runway is really strong. They just brought in a round of funding that will last a few years and are in a position to raise more with strong industry connections. Anyone who has seen parts of early phase clinical is helpful. They have analytical people there but who are used to working with cell culture, not tissue, someone skilled in processing tissue, further downstream work would be highly desirable (this is what they are missing with their current team). They really want industry oncology experience, cell or gene therapy may work too but oncology/immunology preferred. Looking for good Murine (mouse modeling, in vivo) experience. They have a vivarium in house. They need to have good procedure skills, some surgical skills – they really would love someone with strong mouse surgery skills, this is an area that is lacking with their team now and would fill a gap. Any experience with larger mammals is a plus but not a must, the mouse is a must. Any GLP (GxP) or experience with regulatory filings is a plus. Their current team is strong in in vivo, good with live procedures/dosing/sampling and sample processing, weaker in surgery – so someone with good surgery is a big plus here. Gaps – downstream analysis, tissue analysis, flow, cytokine analysis would be a gap they need to fill, someone strong in surgery (open surgery, implantation surgery – not a must but would be a big value add). They do exist and often work at big pharma but are silo’ed – they would need to be able to be well rounded and proficient in other analysis, experimental design, and assays. Flow analysis, cell sorting techniques, sample fixation work. They haven’t established any collaborations with outside tissue vendors yet, this person could be doing basic tissue fixation. Any experience working with external vendors a plus but not a must In vivo Research Associate, OncologyWe build DNA computers that run molecular programs in cells to treat cancer and other diseases. Using multi-input molecular-level computation in individual cells, our approach leads to curative therapies where the conventional one drug-one target paradigm has failed to deliver effective treatments. We are building a world-class team at our headquarters in South San Francisco to translate two decades of scientific progress in DNA computing and synthetic biology into the clinic.About the roleYou will perform in vivo studies of our AAV-based cancer therapeutic candidates to advance our oncology pipeline and technology platform. You will contribute to the design of the preclinical studies and their execution, ensuring high level of scientific rigor and compliance with relevant regulations. This is an ideal position for a candidate with a strong background in vivo experiments who thrives in a team-oriented, cross-disciplinary, and collaborative environment. Key responsibilitiesPlan and execute in vivo studies in collaboration with discovery and data scientistsPerform various in vivo procedures in mice: dosing via IV, IP and SC, blood sampling, and complex surgeries to establish orthotopic tumor models via abdominal surgery Conduct routine animal health monitoring and recording and monitor tumor volume by in vivo imaging or caliper measurementPerform necropsy, biological sample processing (e.g. FFPE and OCT), tissue dissociation and cell sorting via MACS or FACS, and downstream analysis e.g. flow cytometry and immune assaysConduct mammalian cell culture and QC for in vivo experimentsGenerate, document and analyze in vivo study data in accordance with study protocols, SOPs, and regulatory guidelines Interface with external laboratories and partners.Who you areMSc in life sciences.At least 3 years of hands-on experience working with murine oncology models in an academic or industry setting.Strong hands-on experience with complex rodent procedures, such as thoracic or abdominal surgery, suturing and wound closure, and tail vein dosingExperience in necropsy, tissue handling and processing, tumor cell and splenocyte isolation, and flow cytometryDetail-oriented with strong organizational and record-keeping skillsExcellent communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively in a cross-functional team.Experience working in a GLP or regulatory-compliant environment is a plus.