Company Description

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

Job Description

AbbVie’s Ophthalmology Discovery Research group is looking for a highly motivated and experienced retinal immunologist to play an integral role in discovering therapeutics to preserve and restore vision. This position offers an exciting opportunity to advance the understanding of immunological responses and create novel therapies for eye-blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma neurodegeneration. The candidate will work with a highly collaborative team of scientists in leading various activities including target identification/validation and pharmacology-based approaches using cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology technologies. The candidate will support the identification of novel retinal disease targets and advance ongoing projects with day-to-day laboratory benchwork, at the Irvine, California location. Key responsibilities for the candidate will be to lead and design innovative research projects to investigate the immune response in retinal diseases and interpret data and derive actionable insights to guide project direction and development of treatment hypotheses. 

We are seeking a hands-on experimentalist who is proficient in immunology, immune-based cellular assays, and is capable of leading scientific projects in collaboration with internal and external stake holders/experts. In addition, we are seeking a candidate who can independently research and understand relevant target/disease biology in a fast-paced environment and has excellent written and oral communication skills. The candidate will have the opportunity to present their results at team and internal/external science meetings. Prior experience in ophthalmology, in vivo retinal models, and drug development is desired.   

Key Responsibilities: 

Research Deliverables: Work independently to design and implement experimentation to validate hypotheses, complete data analysis and interpretation in support of Ophthalmology Discovery Research’s goal to advance target identification and validation in retinal immunology.  Collaboration and Innovation: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive research initiatives and ensure alignment with strategic goals. Contribute to the development of innovative approaches and the latest advancement in retinal immunology research.  Record Keeping, Publication and Communication: Maintain accurate and organized records of experiments, methodologies, and data analysis. Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at scientific conferences and internal meetings to disseminate knowledge and promote collaboration. Mentorship: Mentor and provide guidance to junior scientists and research associates, fostering a collaborative and innovative research environment. Regulatory Compliance and Culture: Ensure all research activities comply with relevant regulatory guidelines and company ethical standards. 
Qualifications
Education: Ph.D. in Immunology, Ophthalmology, Neurology, Biological Sciences, or a related field with preference given to those with an emphasis in retinal immunology. Experience: A minimum of 1-3 years of relevant postdoctoral or industry experience in immunology research. Technical Skills: Extensive experience with profiling immune cells, conducting functional assays, and the application of these techniques to pharmacological and molecular target validation studies. Experience in utilizing advanced techniques in molecular biology, cell line and primary mammalian immune cell culture, and immune cell differentiation assays. Hands on familiarity with techniques such as multiplex ELISA, MSD, qPCR/dPCR, single-cell analysis, high-plex flow cytometry, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent microscopy. Experience in animal handling and in vivo model experimentation. Understanding of DNA sequencing techniques (NGS and Sanger) and analysis.  Analytical Skills: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex scientific data into clear strategies and solutions. Experience with FlowJo, Prism, and R-code (preferred) Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for effective collaboration with internal teams and external partners. Leadership Skills: Demonstrated ability to lead and manage research projects, with strong organizational and time-management capabilities. 
Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.​We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. 

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community and embracing diversity and inclusion.  It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

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