MindPharm is partnering with a large, diversified BioPharmaceutical company to identify candidates for an exciting opportunity to join the Tumor Biology Team and to advance new oncology therapeutics into the clinic.
 
Location: MidWest
Department: Research Division Global Pharmaceutical R&D

Position Description:
Seeking an individual to join the tumor biology team to conduct histopathological evaluation of IHC studies and general oversight of histotechnicians in the areas of tissue processing, sectioning and immunohistochemical staining procedures.
Candidate will;

• Guide the method development of antibodies for target expression and biomarker analysis in both FFPE and OCT whole sections and TMAs;
• Summarize IHC results and prepare presentations and interact with cross-functional teams to support IHC needs for different programs.
• Possess the ability to drive the strategy for translational biomarker development, coordinate and establish both internal and external collaborations, develop new methodologies to support multiple small molecule and biologics programs is essential.
• Have knowledge in the areas of cancer biology, adaption of IHC and development of translational IHC biomarker assays for use in the clinic is desired.

 
Qualifications:

• 5-8 years experience in oncology R&D experience within the pharmaceutical industry, academia or equivalent
• Must have 3+ years experience in IHC, antibody selection and optimization of IHC protocols (FFPE and OCT)
• Strong pathology background required and digital pathology experience with relevant cancer biology research background and clinical pathology experience is highly preferred
• Board certification is highly desired
• Candidate with proven leadership skills, strong research and industry experience, good interpersonal skills, ability to direct or lead technical studies, strong communication (excellent verbal and written skills) and teamwork skills are required.

Requirements:
PhD and/or MD or DVM in a relevant field + 2-3 years experience in IHC

For consideration please contact;

Stephanie Miller

MindPharm, LLC

www.mindpharm.net

410-448-4522

stephanie.miller@mindpharm.net

 

 

MindPharm is partnering with an established BioPharmaceutical company to identify candidates for  the in vitro Biology Cancer Research group to augment  the discovery and development of innovative treatments to help patients in the fight against cancer.

We are currently seeking a highly motivated cell biologist to join our Cancer Biology group within the Cancer Research Division. The incumbent will be expected to identify and validate novel cancer targets as well as develop biochemical and cellular assays to support lead discovery and optimization. The individual must be able to prioritize and manage multiple research activities. Experience in DNA metabolism (repair/replication), apoptosis, cell cycle and/or other signal transduction pathways related to oncogenesis is essential.
The grade level will be commensurate of the individual's experience.

Major responsibilities:
Independently guide the development of novel target candidates; develop and maintain appropriate in vitro assays to guide SAR studies; interact with cross-functional teams to facilitate lead advancement; critically evaluate relevant scientific data and apply this knowledge to research efforts; contribute substantially to the overall research strategies; continually implement and validate novel research approaches to advance project goals; communicate results to multi-disciplinary teams; publish project-related research in peer-reviewed journals.Skills/Experience
 
RequirementsSkills/Experience:

• Ph.D. in Cell Biology or related discipline with 3 years post-graduate experience in the area of cancer is required.

• Demonstrated scientific achievements, i.e., strong publication and/or patent record.
• Proficiency in standard biochemical, cellular and molecular techniques are highly preferred.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills are essential.
•  

For consideration please contact;

Stephanie Miller

MindPharm, LLC

www.mindpharm.net

410-448-4522

stephanie.miller@mindpharm.net

 MindPharm is partnering with a large, diversified BioPharmaceutical company to identify candidates for an exciting opportunity to join the Quality Assurance team and to lead vendor compliance fro Global R&D.

Location: MidWest
Department: QA

Job Description:

• Assure that GPRD remains in compliance with Corporate and Divisional policies and procedures and all applicable worldwide regulations
• Provide consultation and assistance to GPRD personnel on compliance issues.
• Provide GPRD personnel with training on applicable worldwide regulations.
  Lead cross-functional project teams to help identify potential issues and resolve current issues.
• Manage compliance issues in Global Project Team/Functional Area programs, escalating issues to GPRD QA management as appropriate
• Responsible for GCP vendor management activities including vendor qualification, performance and ongoing performance monitoring through onsite auditing, metrics and KPI assessments.
  

Major Responsibilities:

• Interpret, explain and apply the applicable current regulations, guidelines, policies and procedures
• Plan, organize, and lead multiple audits of R&D facilities, equipment, personnel, methods, practices, computer systems, procedures, records and controls for compliance to protocols, policies, SOPs, and applicable governmental regulations globally
• Evaluate the potential risk of compliance deficiencies across protocols and/or compounds within assigned Therapeutic Area/Program, utilizing tools such as metrics and trending of audit findings, and communicate compliance risks to GPRD QA management
• Identify services, maintain audit schedule, plan, organize and lead audits of external contract facilities (specialty testing laboratories, central laboratories, clinical sites, central Institutions, Review Boards (IRBs), Contract Research Organizations (CRO) and distributors as applicable) both within the US and globally
• Communicate Contract Research Organization (CRO) status to GPRD QA management, follow up on ongoing Corrective Action Plans with Suppliers and participate in strategic initiatives involving CROs
• Maintain effective communication of program related information
• Review corrective action plans/audit responses for adequacy and approve if adequate
• Review policies and procedures and suggest improvements
• Create quality/compliance training programs for the GPRD organization
• Identify, initiate, manage, and/or participate in quality improvement projects
• Work independently as well as a team
• Mentor, coach and train QA auditing staff
• Prepare and present multiple project progress reports to update management and keep the team(s) informed
• Maintain project oversight to include assessments for the development program, allocation of QA resources and awareness of project timelines
• Supervise Quality team members for project specific activities as required.
  Directly coordinate GPRD GCP Compliance auditing programs
• Assist with the definition of GPRD Quality Goals.
  
  
  Accoutability and Scope:
  This position is accountable to the Director of GCP Compliance, GPRD QA. The decisions and recommendations made by the individual will directly impact compliance to applicable regulations, and thereby promote the continued success of GPRD. These activities such as auditing and associated functions can have a great impact on the quality of the data, which can, ultimately, lead to delay, or inability of company to market new products.

Skills/Experience Requirements:
The job requires knowledge of quality principles, research, and the development of pharmaceuticals and an understanding of the effect of his/her decisions on it.

The individual must be able to:

• Work independently, in a team environment, and with all levels of personnel within the organization
• Effectively handle multiple assignments simultaneously
• Anticipate and adjust to rapidly changing priorities and anticipate the impact of the change on overall program
• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the applicable regulations and be able to apply them to a wide variety of situations
• Successfully interact with all levels of personnel within the division
• Show initiative to identify and implement new approaches to resolve problems (i.e., risk assessments, CAPA plans)
• Proactively identify issues across protocols and/or compounds;
  · Utilize innovation in solving problems.
  
  Must be able to make decisions with limited supervision, but decisions may be discussed with GPRD QA Management prior to implementation of action plan.

Education Requirements:
Bachelor’s Degree in a physical science, life science, nursing, pharmacy or equivalent experience required.

For consideration please contact;

Stephanie Miller

MindPharm, LLC

www.mindpharm.net

410-448-4522

stephanie.miller@mindpharm.net

A cure for the common cold may finally be achieved as a result of a remarkable discovery in a Cambridge laboratory

By Steve Connor, Science Editor

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Finding ways to enhance the activity of specific bacteria in the colon is the tricky part of the puzzle, but the discovery is an interesting one.

Discovery May Help Scientists Boost Broccoli's Cancer-Fighting Power - FierceBiotech

ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2010) - A University of Illinois study has shown for the first time that sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent in broccoli, can be released from its parent compound by bacteria in the lower gut and absorbed into the body.

"This discovery raises the possibility that we will be able to enhance the activity of these bacteria in the colon, increasing broccoli's cancer-preventive power," said Elizabeth Jeffery, a U of I professor of human nutrition.

Sea snail venom has been previously used to make an injection for pain, but this formulation has a much wider range of potential applications, including peripheral neuropathy.  

Sea snail saliva may become new treatment for most severe pain

Scientists have developed a new version of a medication, first isolated from the saliva of sea snails, that could be taken in pill form to relieve the most severe forms of pain as effectively as morphine but without risking addiction. An article on the topic appears in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News

This article covers the advances being made in individualized (patient-specific) cancer vaccines as well as the science behind them.  Most of this generation of vaccines will be used following radiation and chemotherapy to clear residual cancer cells  from the body, but the potential exists for future vaccines that would replace chemo entirely.

New Cancer Vaccine Kills Lymphoma, Now in Phase III Clinical Trials | Singularity Hub

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals and Biovest International have developed a non-Hodgkin?s lymphoma (NHL) vaccine that teaches the body?s immune system to identify and destroy tumor cells while leaving healthy tissue intact. The vaccine, called BiovaxID, is already in Phase III clinical trials.

Autopsy results have confirmed that scans performed using the dye while the patient was still alive map the distribution of plaques in the brain.  The dye is currently in clinical trials by Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Bristol-Myers


Squibb,

Brain dye can spot Alzheimer's - FierceBiomarkers

A study has found that researchers can detect Alzheimer's disease with a brain scan using radioactive dye called AV-45 or florbetapir, which was developed by Philadelphia-based Avid Radiopharmaceuticals.

No recommendations are being made until there is independent confirmation, but the results are encouraging.

Fish Oil May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., led by Emily White, Ph.D., a member of the public health sciences division, asked 35,016 postmenopausal women who did not have a history of breast cancer to complete a 24-page questionnaire about their use of non-vitamin, non-mineral ?specialty? supplements in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study.

After six years of follow-up, 880 cases of breast cancer were identified using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry.

Regular use of fish oil supplements, which contain high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, was linked with a 32 percent reduced risk of breast cancer. The reduction in risk appeared to be restricted to invasive ductal breast cancer, the most common type of the disease.

A research team at Karolinska Institutet has been able to cluture human stem cells on a matrix of a single human protein: laminin-511.

Breakthrough in stem cell culturing

"Now, for the first time, we can produce large quantities of human embryonic stem cells in an environment that is completely chemically defined," says professor Karl Tryggvason, who led the study. "This opens up new opportunities for developing different types of cell which can then be tested for the treatment of disease."

Together with researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the researchers have also shown that in the same way they can culture what are known as reprogrammed stem cells, which have been converted "back" from tissue cells to stem cells.

Researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have developed a new molecule based on migrastatin derived from Streptomyces bacteria.  The study reveals how the new agent works to prevent metastasis, by attacking an actin cytoskeletal protein critical for cell movement.

Anti-Cancer Agent Stops Metastasis In Its Tracks

Mice implanted with cancer cells and treated with the small molecule macroketone lived a full life without any cancer spread, compared with control animals, which all died of metastasis. When macroketone was given a week after cancer cells were introduced, it still blocked greater than 80 percent of cancer metastasis in mice.

A California Institute of Technology (Caltech)-led team of researchers and clinicians has published the first proof that a targeted nanoparticle?used as an experimental therapeutic and injected directly into a patient?s bloodstream?can traffic into tumors, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and turn off an important cancer gene.


Caltech-led Team Provides Proof in Humans of RNA Interference Using Targeted Nanoparticles - Caltech

These results, published in the March 21 advance online edition of the journal Nature, demonstrate the feasibility of using both nanoparticles and RNAi-based therapeutics in patients, and open the door for future "game-changing" therapeutics that attack cancer and other diseases at the genetic level, says Mark Davis, the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech, and the research team?s leader.

Researchers at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia found that mice lacking the p21 gene regain the ability to regenerate lost tissue, more or less like an amphibian.  

Humans could regrow body parts like some amphibians - Telegraph

According to the Wistar researchers, the loss of p21 causes the cells of these mice to behave more like regenerating embryonic stem cells rather than adult mammalian cells. This means they act as if they (are) creating rather than mending the body.

Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide solid evidence to link tissue regeneration to the control of cell division.

Vaccines that require refrigeration or freezing for storage add at least $200 million to the cost of distributing vaccines in developed countries this new preservation technique offers a solution.

New vaccine storage technology could revolutionize immunization in the developing world | Booster Shots | Los Angeles Times

British researchers have devised a way to capture vaccines in a glass-like membrane composed of sugar, a feat that could eliminate the need for refrigeration of vaccines and revolutionize their distribution in the developing world. Tests have shown that the technique can preserve vaccines for as long as a year at tropical temperatures, according to the report Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

This interesting study describes a new class of broad-spectrum antivirals effective against
enveloped viruses that target the viral lipid membrane and compromises its ability to mediate virus?cell fusion. 

A broad-spectrum antiviral targeting entry of enveloped viruses ? PNAS

an antiviral small molecule, LJ001, effective against numerous enveloped viruses including Influenza A, filoviruses, poxviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses, paramyxoviruses, flaviviruses, and HIV-1. In sharp contrast, the compound had no effect on the infection of nonenveloped viruses. In vitro and in vivo assays showed no overt toxicity.