Data Scientist – Drug Discovery & Development (Senior*)

Position Description

Juvena Therapeutics, Inc. is a regenerative medicine biotech startup inviting applicants for Data Scientist – Drug Discovery & Development, who are excited to work as a core member of a team focused on the discovery and validation of novel disease-modifying biologics that promote tissue regeneration by inducing tissue-specific rejuvenating phenotypes. We are discovering and developing various biologics that can promote disease-modifying phenotypes such as increased stem cell activity, reduced chronic or localized inflammation, reduced fibrosis, improved differentiation, or increased mitochondrial function and metabolism. *Senior title possible commensurate with relevant experience.

The Data Scientist, reporting to the Head of Data Science and working closely with lab+computational scientists and other researchers, will drive the discovery and development of new therapeutic agents by providing leadership in statistical design, computational analysis, and predictive modeling throughout the drug discovery and development process, including algorithms for predicting disease-modifying biologic candidates & biomarkers, in vitro and in vivo experiment design and analysis, developing and automating assay read-out models & statistical QC analyses, and supporting regulatory approval (IND, NDA, etc.) under direction. The Data Scientist will also be a key contributor to Juvena Therapeutics’ growing in-house knowledge ecosystem (JuvNET), and developing tools and applications that extend to scientists the use of JuvNET across organs, diseases, proteins, and pathways.

The position is full-time starting as early as possible. This is the perfect opportunity for someone interested in the exciting and fast-paced environment of a startup company and looking to make a difference in human health and healthspan.

Company Summary

Juvena Therapeutics is a venture backed biotechnology startup discovering and developing disease-modifying biologics by leveraging their computationally-driven discovery platform to rapidly identify and validate secreted proteins with regenerative potential for multiple rare and chronic diseases.

At Juvena Therapeutics, we are on a mission to discover and develop biologics for rare and chronic degenerative diseases by mapping secreted proteins to unmet medical needs through a machine learning (ML)-enhanced platform. Juvena’s approach integrates proteomics, transcriptomics and imaging with phenotypic human in vitro disease model screening and extensive preclinical validation to mine the therapeutic potential of human stem cell secretomes as a rich source of new medicines that promote tissue regeneration and repair. We are advancing lead drug candidates for muscular dystrophies, atrophy, injury, and osteopathies, and establishing new programs targeting tissue-specific degenerative diseases across multiple therapeutic areas. Since our launch in mid-2018, Juvena has discovered and validated several hits for neuromuscular, skeletal, and metabolic diseases. Juvena’ preclinical programs are supported by funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Juvena is advancing a lead program for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, a rare autosomal dominant, progressive muscle-wasting disease.

At Juvena we embrace a diversity of backgrounds, experience and approaches that all combine to lead us to world-class scientific results in an inclusive environment.

Position Location and Work Permit Requirement

• 640 Galveston Dr. Redwood City, 64063. Remote or hybrid is also possible.
• The Candidate must be legally authorized to work in the US.
• This position is required to be on-site for 2-3 days/week on average.

Position Requirements and Duties 

• Bring to the Juvena Team your expertise in:
  • Statistical analysis and visualization of complex data relationships driving lead discovery and validation
  • Bioinformatics and statistical leadership in pre-clinical drug/biomarker development projects
  • Data modeling and inference with applications in drug/biomarker discovery
  • Establishing analytical pipelines, packages, & tools that drive best-practices and shared codebase development
• Support pharmaceutical co-development projects and associated business development objectives
• Support pre-clinical activities related to regulatory meetings and submissions under direction
• Develop and apply computational models to enhance the efficiency of candidate biologics identification, screening, and pre-clinical validation
• Work cross-functionally to create the best possible pipeline of candidate therapeutics and the tools to scale out efficiently across multiple indications
• Improve efficiency by automating data extractions, analyses, and reporting;
• Manage Google Cloud and AWS resources connected to relevant projects;
• Other tasks as required.
• Actively survey the forefront of published methods and resources for your field and internalize key aspects to the company

Qualifications

This position is a great fit if you have/are:

• This position is a great fit if you have/are:
• Ph.D in Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, a Biological field, or other related disciplines involving computational biological data analysis
• 1+ years of industry experience applying computational & statistical analyses to Life Sciences R&D objectives such as biomarker discovery and development, early target discovery, pre-clinical/ clinical study design, PK/PD, toxicogenomics, MOA studies, etc.
• Demonstrated mastery of computational-statistical analysis and fundamentals of biology with publications, co-inventorships, or other impressive achievements
• Experience integrating and analyzing multi-omic data
• Highly communicative – Effective communicator verbally, in writing, and in presentations to both expert and novice audiences
• Highly motivated – loves working collaboratively with scientists, pursue delivering objective of analysis/tool to meet deadlines on experiments and projects
• Demonstrated expertise in computing language (e.g. R and/or Python)
• Experience with cloud computing systems is a plus (e.g. GCP, AWS)
• Startup R&D experience is a plus

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive salary, annual bonus, partial 401K and stock options
• Health/Dental/Vision insurance
• Paid vacation and holidays