Project Overview

SMART CAMP (Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine) is an interdisciplinary research programme in Singapore (CREATE international research campus and innovation hub) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). SMART CAMP addresses key technology bottlenecks in cell therapy manufacturing: (i) critical quality attributes (CQA) of safe, effective cell therapy products; and (ii) integrated process analytics to monitor and modulate those attributes. Our efforts are focused on allogeneic and autologous cell therapy products, including but not limited to cell sources including adult stem/progenitor cells and immune cells for treatment of specific cancers, tissue degeneration, and autoimmune diseases.

This interdisciplinary team comprises engineers, biologists, clinicians, manufacturing, and data analytics experts from multiple MIT academic units, and multiple Singapore-based universities, research centres of excellence, and hospitals who are experienced at translational demonstrations of technologies in safety-regulated industries such as cell therapies.

SMART, MIT’s first such research unit outside of Cambridge, MA, serves as an intellectual hub, allowing faculty, researchers and graduate students from MIT to collaborate with their academic and industrial counterparts from Singapore and the region in exciting new areas of science and technology.

Responsibilities

Process analytic technologies (PAT) for cell therapy manufacturing  must be accessible to or integrated with the culture vessels in which the cells are expanded to sufficient cell number and quality.  This  can be especially challenging for adherent cell types, for which production scaleup includes cell adhesion to microcarrier beads and subsequent removal from those surfaces for most types of cell therapy product administration. This PDA will focus on therapeutic applications of IPSCs and the means for improving their efficacy through process optimization in an automated cell culture platform. Protocols for scalable production of IPSCs on microcarriers that exhibit established CQA will be developed. High-throughput process optimization will be conducted on microbioreactor arrays that have been adapted for the production and facile retrieval of adherent cells on microcarriers.

• Development of protocols for production of high-quality IPSCs adhered to microcarriers.
• Validate critical quality attributes (CQAs) for candidate microcarriers, focusing on cell proliferation, label-free potency indicators, and efficient cell recovery.
• Work closely with other team members who are developing novel analysis tools and clinical partners that are defining critical quality attributes for optimal potency and efficacy of the IPSCs.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree in biological/biomedical engineering, biology/life sciences or a related field.
• An interdisciplinary research background in stem cells, mesenchymal stromal cells, translational science, biophysics, and data analytics.
• Knowledge and demonstrated skill set in IPSC biology or application science, cell culture, primary tissue handling, bio/molecular assays and experimental techniques including microscopy (confocal, high-content), multi-parameter flow cytometry, secretome analysis, etc.
• Knowledge and demonstrated skill set in biomaterials such as hydrogels and biomanufacturing such as microfluidics and 3D printing.
• Able to work well and communicate ideas effectively in a multidisciplinary team of researchers with different training backgrounds
• Good track record of publications and scientific output
• Self-motivated, independent, with superior organizational and analytical skills

Interested applicants are invited to send in their full CV/resume, cover letter and list of three references (to include reference names and contact information). We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.