Our vision is to pioneer the development of novel therapeutic approaches from an understanding of age as the greatest risk factor for neurodegeneration and associated functional decline.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in neurodegenerative diseases, namely Alzheimer`s disease, and experience in the translational aspects of human pathophysiology with rodent model systems (in vivo/ex vivo) to enable deep insights into neuronal and other brain cell type pathobiology. As part of the Diseases of Aging and Regenerative medicine (DARe) disease area within Biomedical Research you will contribute to our global research efforts to elucidate and target the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases to develop pharmacological interventions for patients.

The role involves strong collaboration across the DARe In-vivo Physiology, In-vitro Biology and Data Science teams as well as collaborating with scientists from the Neuroscience disease area to drive our research goals.

Major Accountabilities

Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Managing a small in vivo laboratory team, designing and conducting state-of-the-art in-vivo mouse and rat experiments in support of research aiming to develop novel therapeutics for age-related neurodegenerative diseases with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease.
• Mentoring and career development of direct reports.
• Conducting cutting edge research on the pathophysiological changes in neurons and other CNS cell types, including synaptic dysfunction, and metabolic changes in aging and disease.
• Working at the interface between in-vitro biology, integrated pharmacology, aging and disease research and collaborating with a wide range of scientific experts globally across Novartis Biomedical Research to deliver new and actionable therapeutic targets for drug discovery to develop innovative medicines addressing neurodegeneration.
• Supporting the identification of biomarker candidates, elucidating the mode of action of drugs and understanding cross-talk between CNS cell types and across brain subregions as well as with other organs to delineate disease trajectories and novel drug intervention strategies.
• Integrating laboratory research of in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo tissue and biofluid analyses applying a broad range of molecular and cellular techniques.
• Interpreting and presenting results in both written and oral format at project team meetings and to management decision boards.

What you’ll bring to the role:

Essential:

• PhD with 3+ years post-doctoral research in neuroscience and hands-on experience in designing and conducting experiments with rodents, documented through publications.
• Accreditation for animal experimentation (LTK1/LTK2, FELASA B or equivalent).
• Deep knowledge of human and animal pathophysiology related to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer`s disease. Additional expertise in neuro-endocrine systems, metabolism and CNS tissue homeostasis is advantageous.
• Fluency in the handling and analysis of large datasets and integration of genomic, proteomic and metabolomic data into research.
• Highly motivated to learn more about targeting neurodegenerative diseases of aging and regenerative medicine.
• Proactive and dynamic attitude with a demonstrable inquisitive mindset and a proven ability to formulate, articulate, and critically evaluate scientific experiments.
• Excellent teamwork mindset and high aptitude to work and thrive in cross-disciplinary teams. High learning agility and a desire to be up to date with the latest in vivo methodology.
• Fluency in written and oral English with excellent communication skills.

Desirable requirements:

• Knowledge about aging biology.
• Experience in assessing pathophysiological cross-talk between different CNS cell types and CNS subregions as well as with peripheral organs.

Accessibility and accommodation
Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to receive more detailed information about the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.