Senior Data Scientist, Translational Medicine

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Summary

Visterra is seeking a highly motivated and skilled Data Scientist or Senior Data Scientist (commensurate with experience) to join our Translational team. This individual will play a critical role in exploratory translational data analysis, visualization, interpretation, and documentation, supporting our clinical programs. The successful candidate will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Translational & Clinical Development, Nonclinical, Research, and Bioanalytical, to drive biomarker strategy and ensure the integration of biomarker data into the drug development process. This position reports to the Principal Scientist, Translational Biomarkers, and the position’s activities would span all clinical and late-stage preclinical programs. This is a full-time position located at Visterra’s facility in Waltham, MA.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive data analyses using statistical methods and data visualization tools (e.g., R, Python). This includes interpreting complex datasets from clinical trials and biomarker studies to support drug development strategies. Specific responsibilities may include:
  • Format and utilize diverse data types such as clinical data (SDTM and ADaM), biomarker data, and PK/PD parameters for integrated quantitative analysis.
  • Check data quality and consistency, including iteratively checking for consistency at critical analytical nodes.
  • Generate visuals and/or tables of descriptive measures of the data (e.g., means, ranges, variances, distributions, etc.).
  • Perform specific subset analyses for correlations (e.g., relational analyses between PK/PD, safety outputs, or clinical markers).
  • Generate and clearly present graphs and other visualizations. Provide insight into the interpretation of the results. This may include how these results factor into the disease biology or mechanism of action of the therapeutic.
  • Adapt analyses to address subsequent hypotheses generated from initial outputs with the knowledge and insight to curtail tangential analyses that may not yield significant impact or relevance to the understanding of the therapeutic or disease state.
• Develop accurate and high-quality visualizations and presentations that communicate findings clearly to various stakeholders, including non-technical audiences, within and outside the organization.
• Contribute to the execution of biomarker strategies, integrating data from preclinical and clinical studies. Perform relational analyses of biomarkers for pharmacodynamic responses and clinical outcomes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to analyze and evaluate results, ensuring high-quality data and interpretation in a timely manner.
• Author internal reports of biomarker data outputs. Support the clinical trial process by ensuring accurate documentation and reporting of data.
• Engage in the writing and reviewing of documents, including but not limited to: clinical study reports, regulatory documents, and scientific publications or other materials (e.g., conference abstracts).
• Performs other duties as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in the life sciences or data science, with advanced training such as a Master’s or Ph.D. in biological or data sciences. Experience in data analysis, visualization, interpretation and hypothesis is required; this is not solely a statistical/data analysis position.
• Prior analytical experience with clinical trial data is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., R). Thorough understanding of biostatistical concepts.
• Familiarity with proteomics, genomics, or other ‘omics data is advantageous, including an ability to converse and collaborate with in-house bioinformaticians.
• Ability to synthesize and interpret multidisciplinary data sets, think critically, and explain distilled principles to a wide audience.
• Familiarity with relevant good data management practices including annotation, storage, and sharing.
• Background or knowledge in immunology or nephrology is desirable.
• Strong verbal and written skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across a variety of audiences and generate technical reports.
• Collaborative, goal-driven, organized, and communicative; thrives in a fast-paced environment with multiple parallel programs.

Company

Visterra is a clinical stage biotechnology company committed to developing innovative biologic therapies for the treatment of kidney diseases, with an immuno-nephrology focus. Our proprietary technology platform enables the design and engineering of precision antibody or protein-based drug candidates to modulate key disease targets. We are developing a robust pipeline of novel therapies for patients with unmet needs.

Visterra is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka America, Inc., which is a U.S. holding company subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Japan. Visterra has approximately 125 employees, and is located in Waltham, Massachusetts.