NGS Scientist and Operations

Mitra bio is a dynamic start-up backed by Khosla Ventures, Illumina and Oxford University looking to disrupt the skincare industry through data. Mitra is developing a skin longevity platform powered by non-invasive sampling and epigenetics to enhance diagnostics and personalized treatments for the skin.

Mitra is committed to the discovery and development of next generation skin diagnostic tools. We constantly generate large amounts of epigenetic data aiming to identify biomarkers for accurate diagnosis of various attributes and conditions of the skin. We work with big skin-care and pharma clients to help them assess the efficacy of their interventions, and work internally to develop our ability to track all things skin!

In this role you will be at the heart of this discovery process! You will be converting skin samples into useful data by meticulous processing in the lab. From extracting nucleic acids of interest to preparing libraries for targeted sequencing, you will have a thorough overview of the entire data generation pipeline. You will be coordinating with clients and their collaborators on sample receipt and tracking of metadata. You will work with supervision toward building independence in experiment planning and will have the opportunity to significantly contribute to process optimisation, development and automation.

Working closely with our Bioinformatics and engineering team, you will have the opportunity to develop tests for biomarker candidates as well as improve next-generation library preparation techniques for minimal nucleic acid input. You will develop and experiment with state-of-the-art technology and will have opportunities to publish your work in high impact factor journals and develop both your professional and scientific skills.

The Responsibilities

• Conduct experimental work on a variety of scientific projects
• Independently follow SOP (protocols, MSOP and ASOP)
• Independent troubleshooting of experiments
• Keep accurate laboratory records
• Tracking of samples in high-throughput experiments and careful record keeping and tracking of sample information is a must.
• Help in laboratory working-order maintenance
• Participation in general laboratory and team meetings
• Assist with the technical support activities in the R&D group
• Logistics: Assist in the shipment of sampling kits to clients, receipt, record-taking, and onboarding the clients on clinical trials (surveymonkey, CRM processes)
• Engage in company building activities such as writing articles, help with marketing campaigns

The Candidate

• A MSc, Bachelor’s or equivalent experience in a Life Sciences, Genomics, or related discipline
• Experience in an active research laboratory or equivalent industrial setting
• Experience with sterile technique and standard methods of molecular biology research is essential
• A solid understanding of the molecular processes taking place in laboratory experiments is important.
• Experience in Illumina / Nanopore platforms set-up as well as interpretation of data is a plus.
• Experience with Digital PCR is a plus
• Experience in constructing libraries for Next-generation sequencing; experience with target panel design is a plus
• Laboratory experience in genetics, epigenetics, gene expression studies and analysis is a strong plus.
• Demonstrate ownership of activities and responsibilities
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to report and communicate concisely ideas and concepts
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with an interdisciplinary group

The Culture

• A fast-moving start-up, with an energetic, fun and dynamic team looking to disrupt the skin health market with epigenetics.
• Working location is on-site (West London)