Director, Microbiome Research

Job description

Janssen Research & Development, LLC., a member of the J&J Family of Companies, is recruiting for a Director of Microbiome Research with primary location in Cambridge, MA

At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, what matters most is helping people live full and healthy lives. We focus on treating, curing and preventing some of the most devastating and complex diseases of our time. And we pursue the most promising science, wherever it might be found.

Janssen Research & Development, LLC discovers and develops innovative medical solutions to address important unmet medical needs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Please visit http://www.janssenrnd.com/ for more information.

We are Janssen. Our mission drives us. Our patients inspire us. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it.

As Director of Microbiome Research, reporting into the Global Head of the Janssen Human Microbiome Institute, you will give guidance and mentorship to members of the team, and make your microbiome expertise available across the organization. As Director you will be the primary responsible for driving several of our research projects towards and through product development stage, and for identifying additional internal and external beneficial partnerships. In addition, you will formulate, design and oversee execution of microbiome research strategies that can leverage ongoing programs aimed at prevention, interception, and cure of disease across the World Without Disease Accelerator.

In this exciting role, you will:

· Take full scientific ownership of the JHMI research portfolio. Based on analysis of scientific results and development strategy to date, per each project you will work with applicable stakeholders to define next research steps, follow up on progress and adherence to milestones and deliverables in line with JHMI objectives. In addition you will:
· Proactively identify the key hurdles throughout the microbiome product development process, actively source and implement the necessary capabilities or research partnerships needed to overcome these hurdles.
· For each individual project, evaluate and define best practices in support of biomarker development, manufacturing, pharmacokinetics, preclinical devevelopment, computational analyses, or other state-of-the-art practices related to development of microbiome based health care solutions. Efficiently capture and communicate these best practices across the organization.
· Develop expected expenditures and budgets for each project.
· Build a strong network of personal and professional relationships. Demonstrate the leadership and management skills needed to deliver results with your team and external alliances.

· Translate the organization's focus on prevention, interception, and cure of diseases into foundational microbiome research programs and define foundational research questions and strategies towards deeper understanding of microbiome-host interactions within the framework of actionable microbiome based healthcare products and clinical studies for in-human discovery. Formulate matching research programs, organize and manage program execution, evaluate scientific output, and re-iterate research strategy as needed. You will also:
· Develop working hypotheses and design matching experiments according to state-of-the-art microbiome research practices including protocols, sampling conditions and handling, analytical procedures and reporting requirements.
· Provide expert microbiology support throughout the organization for microbiome related research in both clinical and pre-clinical settings.
· Identify and develop investment cases for microbiome based deals with potential to leverage and accelerate the organizational strategy.

· Establish yourself as a key opinion leader in the field of microbiome research and maintain state-of-the-art knowledge in the microbiome and relevant disease areas. Stay active and current on published literature, and communicate information to team members as appropriate, as well as identify and establish open communication channels with the leading academic and industry researchers as relevant to our programs.

· Reporting, information sharing and team building and present key learnings, progress and project status to leadership within JHMI and across the organization on a very frequent basis. You will also:
· Supervise and support senior scientists and staff at JHMI, both for their personal development as for the successful development of their research.
· Develop training programs and personal development goals for your direct reports.

Desired profile

Qualifications :

·  You have a PhD in Science, preferably microbiology, with an outstanding academic and research record.
·  3 years industry experience is also required.
·  Experience with strain characterization and microbiome-host interactions in relation to host physiology is highly preferred.
·  Experience in a leadership role is required.
·  Demonstrated experience with the complexity of microbiome ecosystems, isolation, and propagation of relevant strains from such communities is required.
·  Familiar with computational and high throughput -omics processes is preferred.
·  Demonstrated ability to define and build a research program based on well-defined, self-formulated and theoretically sound hypotheses is required.
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies are equal opportunity employers, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law