Director, Laboratory Animal Resources

How will your role help us transform hope into reality?

Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) at Blueprint Medicines is an organization responsible for providing in-vivo resources to enable drug discovery objectives relevant to pharmacology, DMPK, biopharmaceutics, tolerability, and translational medicine. LAR comprises an internal rodent vivarium, hands-on in-vivo scientific staff, husbandry technicians, vivarium manager, and an external attending veterinarian. The group is expanding its role to include responsibility for ex-vivo cell and tissue work as well as management and oversight of external in-vivo pharmacology studies at CROs. The Director, Laboratory Animal Resources is a key position within the In-Vivo Pharmacology team and the broader Quantitative Translational Pharmacology (QTP) organization. You will the team conducting internal in-vivo/ex-vivo work and liaises with lead pharmacologists on project teams to anticipate and source in-vivo models and studies whether conducted in-house or at CROs. The ideal candidate has scientific and strategic knowledge to also act as lead pharmacologist for select project teams, augmenting both the capabilities and capacity of Nonclinical Pharmacology.  This position is accountable for the operation of the Animal Care Facility (ACF) as well as ensuring compliance with applicable Federal, State, and City of Cambridge regulations concerning the use of animals for research.

What will you do?

• Lead the team conducting internal in-vivo/ex-vivo and veterinary work. Set expectations, assign duties, delegate ‎‎responsibilities, evaluate performance, provide technical and scientific oversight, and prepare professional development plans.
• Liaises with lead pharmacologists on project teams to plan for and source in-vivo models/studies whether conducted in-house or at CROs and provides management oversight of external in vivo studies.
• Collaborates with lead pharmacologists and program leads, as well as QTP leadership, to develop and manage annual budget for external in-vivo studies.
• Provide scientific leadership for identification and implementation of translatable in-vivo models for immunology and/or oncology
• Collaborate with Head of In-Vivo Pharmacology and SVP, QTP to develop and implement strategy to build the LAR capability including instrumentation, laboratory space, and staffing needs to optimize use of the internal in vivo facility and to conduct ex vivo cell and tissue work.
• Accountable for all day-to-day operational activities associated with the ACF, including providing budgetary guidance, managing purchase orders for animals, housing, feed, software, and all other consumable supplies, and ensuring compliance with all relevant Occupational Health and Safety requirements.
• Ensure the ACF’s continued compliance with all applicable Federal, State and City of Cambridge regulations concerning the use of animals for research and the use of controlled substances.
• Ensure that animal care in the ACF is implemented in a manner that meets the high standards required for accreditation by AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care).
• Work with the IACUC to ensure animal welfare and research facilitation are balanced with efficient daily operations and long-range facility needs.

What minimum qualifications do we require?

• PhD or DVM with 10+ or MS with 13+ years of proven experience applying in-vivo models of disease/pharmacology in biotech and/or pharmaceutical industry. Expertise of in-vivo oncology or immunology models is preferred.
• Experience working in an animal care laboratory environment is required.
• Thorough familiarity with laws, regulations, guidelines, and policies dealing with the humane care and use of animals in research.

What additional qualifications will make you a stronger candidate?

• Understanding of the fundamentals of pharmacology; extensive experience in designing and executing non-clinical studies to characterize in-vivo target engagement, proof of mechanism, and exposure-response; and a demonstrated ability to apply translational thinking to make data-driven decisions based on preclinical and clinical information. Experience with in-vivo PK, non-GLP tox, and formulation studies is a plus.
• Previous industry experience with understanding of the drug discovery process from Lead Optimization through late pre-clinical discovery preferred.
• Excellent project management and organization skills with the ability to effectively manage CROs and to facilitate interactions with academic labs and companies to ensure project progression.
• Experience overseeing scientific contributions and managing the performance of scientific staff, with demonstrated record of developing talent. Experience managing vivarium personnel is a plus.
• Proficiency in a variety of animal-based procedures, including those related to dosing, sample collection, surgery and necropsy, is a plus.
• Commitment to our Core Values: Patients First, Thoughtfulness, Urgency, Trust, Optimism

Why Blueprint?

At Blueprint Medicines, we achieve impactful results because of our global crew of compassionate innovators – the Blue Crew. Through authentic relationships and our collective entrepreneurial spirit and action, we are each empowered to take ownership and execute with strategic prioritization. We put trust in our people to break through norms and conventions using their individual strengths and insights, which drives our success.

This is the place where the extraordinary becomes reality, and you could be part of it.

Patients are waiting. Are you ready to make the leap?

Equal Employment Opportunity

At Blueprint Medicines, we foster an environment of fair treatment and full participation for all of our employees as we navigate complex challenges in pursuing our mission to improve the lives of patients. We celebrate our unique differences and varied career and life experiences so that we can sustain our diverse culture and ensure everyone feels accepted. We are committed to non-discrimination, equal employment opportunity, as well as an inclusive recruitment process. We consider all qualified applicants based on merit and without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law.

We will make reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship, for qualified individuals with known disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability in need of an accommodation with the application or recruiting process, please reach out to TotalRewards@blueprintmedicines.com. We are also an E-Verify Employer. For more information, please see our EEO Policy Statement, the E-Verify Participation Poster, the Right to Work Poster, and/or the EEO Know Your Rights Poster.

Blueprint Medicines is a global, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company that invents life-changing medicines. We seek to alleviate human suffering by solving important medical problems in two core focus areas: allergy/inflammation and oncology/hematology. Our approach begins by targeting the root causes of disease, using deep scientific knowledge in our core focus areas and drug discovery expertise across multiple therapeutic modalities. We have a proven track record of success with two approved medicines, including bringing our medicine to patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) in the U.S. and Europe. Leveraging our established research, development, and commercial capability and infrastructure, we now aim to significantly scale our impact by advancing a broad pipeline of programs ranging from early science to advanced clinical trials in mast cell diseases including SM and chronic urticaria, breast cancer and other solid tumors.

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