Research Intern, Biomarker

**Internship Opportunities in Biomedical Research**

We are committed to be the premier, research-intensive biopharmaceutical company and are dedicated to providing leading innovations and solutions for today and the future. Our mission is to discover, develop and provide medicines and vaccines that save and improve lives around the world. We strive to transform breakthrough science into novel therapeutics and vaccines and our scientific curiosity drives us to invent solutions to some of the world's most challenging diseases. Many begin in our Research & Development Division, where we push the boundaries of science with the hope and expectation that the medicines and vaccines, we invent will lead to better health for society for generations to come.

In Singapore, our Translational Medicine Research Centre is located within the Biopolis, the heart of Singapore’s biomedical research community. Here, we are focused on identifying and validating new drug targets, exploring innovative therapeutic modalities, and leveraging clinical studies and patient-derived material to understand biomarkers of disease or therapeutic response to increase our understanding of human biology and to drive a therapeutic pipeline to address unmet medical needs. Our state-of-the-art laboratory supports discovery biology and translational medicine and is an integral part of our Company’s world-class network for drug and vaccine discovery.

As an intern within our research laboratories, you will gain the opportunity to work with talented and dedicated scientists, learn from leading industry experts, gain exposure and professional experience working for a research-driven enterprise; and use your passion, creativity, knowledge, and collaboration skills to find solutions to challenging problems in your day-to-day work.

The position is in the Biomarker & Target Sciences Group which is a part Discovery Cardio-metabolic Diseases Therapeutic Area. We are focused on identifying and validating new drug targets, exploring innovative therapeutic modalities, and leveraging preclinical studies and patient-derived material to understand biomarkers of disease or therapeutic response to increase our understanding of human biology and to drive a therapeutic pipeline to address unmet medical needs. Our state-of-the-art laboratory supports discovery biology and translational medicine and is an integral part of our Company's world-class network for drug and vaccine discovery.

**Position Title**:
Research Intern, Biomarker & Target Sciences Group (Discovery Cardio-Metabolic Diseases)

**Job Purpose**:
The Research Intern will work closely with an assigned scientific supervisor on a lab-based research project in biomedical research.

**Project Title: Development of Novel Ultra-Sensitive Soluble Biomarkers**

High-throughput, multiplex assays, which allows multiple tests to be performed on a single sample, is becoming increasingly important, especially for pre-clinical samples where sample volume is often a limitation. A range of sensitive multiplex systems are now available in the market, with varying accuracy, ease-of-use, and throughput. There is hence a need to compare and assess their suitability of use for different challenging and complex fit-for-purpose assays.

The project aims to perform analytical comparison of three immunoassays platforms (e.g., ELISA, Luminex and potentially the Simoa SR-X), for detection of low abundance analytes.

The main goals of the project would be to:

- Establish a new ultra-sensitive, bead-based platform (Quanterix Simoa SR-X)
- Investigate the performance of various immunoassay platforms and assess sensitivity, ease of use, throughput (e.g., ELISA, Luminex, Simoa SR-X)
- Develop a fit-for-purpose immunoassay on selected platform, including feasibility studies to method validation, and deploy the assay as needed

At the end of the internship, the student would:

- Develop technical skills in lab-based techniques (e.g., ELISA) and basic data analysis (e.g., GraphPad Prism)
- Learn the process of rigorous assay development, including how to conduct feasibility studies, reagents qualification and validation
- Hone scientific thinking and communication skills through scientific writing and presentations (i.e., validation plan, validation report)

**Qualification**:
Enrollment in a local polytechnic program leading to a Diploma in a Biomedical Sciences, Biological Sciences or Life Sciences-related discipline.

**Experience and Skills**:

- Working knowledge of laboratory-based methodologies such as molecular biology, protein or nucleic acid isolation, cell culture, Western blot, quantitative plate-based detection methodologies (e.g., ELISA).
- Hands-on laboratory experience preferred.

**Other Personal Attributes**:

- Strong interest in working in a research-intensive environment
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills
- Have a positive, proactive, can-do attitude
- Keen to learn and good team player
- Stron