AbbVie is seeking a Senior Scientist I with a strong background in immunology and/or peptide biology to join our Immuno-Pharmacology and Peptide Discovery team within the Immunology Discovery organization. This lab-based role supports both IND-enabling and early-stage discovery programs, as well as peptide platform research and innovation. The position involves hands-on experimentation with translational in vitro and ex vivo assays, PK/PD assessments, and the use of autoimmune disease efficacy models to evaluate peptide therapeutics.

In this role, you will design and implement innovative experimental approaches to address key scientific questions in peptide immunology. You will investigate, identify, and optimize new methods, assays, and techniques relevant to peptide therapeutic discovery and immunological mechanisms of action. You will also contribute scientific insights to projects, particularly in areas such as inflammatory pathways, immune cell trafficking, immune receptor modulation, receptor targeting, tissue-specific target density, and receptor occupancy. Collaboration with cross-functional teams—including in vivo pharmacology, DMPK, and platform groups—is essential to drive technical problem-solving and ensure coordinated efforts across projects.

Responsibilities: 

• Experimental Design & Execution: Design, execute, and interpret immunological and pharmacological experiments to support IND-enabling and discovery-stage projects across peptide therapeutic programs, collaborating closely with team members.
• Biodistribution/RO & Dose Response Data Generation: Collect and analyze plasma and tissue drug exposure and receptor occupancy (RO) data to support dose-exposure-response predictions and inform oral dosing strategies for peptide candidates.
• In Vivo Immunology: Work side by side with vivarium personnel to perform adoptive transfer, rodent dosing (mice and rats), issue harvesting and processing for downstream cellular and molecular analysis of immune responses and target engagement in autoimmune models.
• Immunological Assays: Execute a variety of immunological assays (e.g., flow cytometry, ELISPOT, co-cultures, cytokine profiling, whole blood assays) to characterize immune responses and evaluate the efficacy of peptide therapeutic candidates.
• Molecular Techniques: Conduct RNA isolation, qPCR/digital PCR, and related methods to assess gene expression, cytokine responses, and biomarker modulation.
• Tissue-Based Insights: Process lymphoid and barrier tissues (e.g., GI tract, skin, lymph nodes, spleen) for immune profiling and support receptor occupancy and BioD assessments at relevant disease sites.
• Model-Enabled Experimentation: Contribute experimental data to support BioD- and PK/PD-driven modeling efforts, including immune cell targeting, dose saturation effects, and target engagement across tissues.
• Translational Strategy Support: Help refine experimental designs to address translational knowledge gaps and provide data to support clinical prediction models and regulatory packages.
• Technical Mastery: Demonstrate mastery of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo immunology techniques, applying these methods to peptide-focused studies to generate robust, reproducible data.
• Data Analysis (PK/PD): Interpret pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) data – including plasma and tissue exposure levels and receptor occupancy – to guide program decisions and optimize peptide therapeutic candidates.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate cross-functionally with multidisciplinary teams (e.g., DMPK, pharmacology, chemistry) to integrate experimental findings into broader program objectives and ensure alignment with overall peptide therapeutic development goals.