Research Associate, Therapeutic target discovery [LKCMedicine]

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) trains doctors who put patients at the centre of their exemplary care. The School, which offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes, is named after local philanthropist Tan Sri Dato Lee Kong Chian. Established in 2010 by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in partnership with Imperial College London, LKCMedicine aims to be a model for innovative medical education and a centre for transformative research. The School’s primary clinical partner is the National Healthcare Group, a leader in public healthcare recognised for the quality of its medical expertise, facilities and teaching. The School is transitioning to an NTU medical school ahead of the 2028 successful conclusion of the NTU-Imperial partnership to set up a Joint Medical School. In August 2024, we welcomed our first intake of the NTU MBBS programme, that has been recently enhanced to include themes like precision medicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with an expanded scope in the medical humanities. Graduates from the five-year undergraduate medical degree programme will have a strong understanding of the scientific basis of medicine, with an emphasis on technology, data science and the humanities.

The Nutrition, Metabolism and Health Programme is addressing one of the world’s most pressing healthcare issue: Over nutrition driven chronic diseases. The key objectives are to support efforts to elucidating the molecular basis of type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, including fatty liver disease and to track changes in inflammatory signatures and states from healthy to metabolically imbalanced phenotypes. Our mission is to understand the developmental and environmental basis of obesity, diabetes, related gut, liver and metabolic disorders and to translate this understanding into disease alleviation and prevention.

For more details, please view https://www.ntu.edu.sg/medicine/research/research-programmes/nutrition-metabolism-health

We are seeking a Research Associate. The role will focus on the development of novel therapeutic approaches for late and end-stage liver disease, including liver cancer. The candidate will conduct in vivo and in vitro validation work, as well as novel liquid biopsy derived biomarker discovery. Furthermore, she or he will closely work with our clinical partners and process and analyze human samples. The focus will be on translational impact.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, budgets in alignment with strategic objectives.

• Partner with stakeholders to develop and fine-tune needs, requirements, and outcomes for the projects

• Development of business opportunities with industry partners.

• Be an excellent team player and closely interact with physicians, bioinformaticians, industry partners as well as other researchers

• Analyze screening data

• Validate therapeutic targets relevant models

• Identify mode of action of therapeutic effect

• Supervise FYP and intern students

• Have extensive experience in in vivo mouse models, in vitro cell culture and processing patient tissue and blood samples

Required educational qualification, experience, skills and competencies:

• Master degree in domain discipline or related field, MD/PhD background prefered

• At least 5 years of relevant experiences in similar role

• Strong translational research and entrepreneurial mindset

• Project management experience.

• Ability to work independently / develop solutions under strict timelines, meticulous and eye for details / excellent organizational / time management skills

• Deep understanding of therapeutic/biomarker discovery and development pipeline.

• Proven experience managing complex programs involving multiple stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables.

• Strong communication, negotiation, and leadership skills.

• Experience working with MASLD, fibrosis, metabolic syndrome, or related therapeutic areas.

• Experience in therapeutic target discovery and Intellectual property development

• Understanding of non-invasive diagnostic tools, therapeutic technologies, clinical and research landscape in MASLD.

• Good written and oral communication skills

• Competent in writing grants and scientific articles as well as working in a team