Scientist, Discovery Oncology (in vivo Biology)

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us. 

Overview:

At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, and more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Position Summary:

We are seeking a highly motivated, hands-on scientist to join our in vivo team within Discovery Oncology. Working under the direct technical guidance of a senior scientific lead, the successful candidate will execute in vivo mouse studies according to established study designs and written protocols to support target identification and validation, efficacy assessment, and de-risking of on-target toxicity liabilities across the Discovery Oncology portfolio. The majority of the work is in vivo study execution, complemented by basic cell culture in support of those studies.

The ideal candidate has strong animal handling, dosing, and necropsy technique; documents work meticulously; and communicates clearly with study leads and cross-functional partners. Occasional weekend and holiday coverage may be needed to support dosing and study time points.

Responsibilities:

• Execute mouse studies, including tumor cell implantation, dosing by standard routes (e.g., PO, IP, SQ), and basic necropsy technique; build proficiency in additional techniques (e.g., IV dosing, survival surgery) with training.
• Measure and record tumor volumes, body weights, and clinical observations; monitor animal health and escalate findings promptly to the study lead and veterinary staff.
• Support dosing, formulation, and necropsy for studies run by other team members, including occasional weekend or holiday coverage as needed.
• Harvest and process tumor and tissue samples at study endpoints, including sample banking for downstream analysis.

• Perform basic in vitro cell culture (maintenance, expansion, quality checks of cancer cell lines) to prepare cells and reagents for implantation studies.
• Order and track lab and office supply inventory for in vivo studies.
• Maintain compliance with IACUC-approved animal care and use protocols and all laboratory research and animal handling procedures.
• Follow good research practices, SOPs, and notebook documentation standards.
• Enter, tabulate, and summarize study data (tumor growth curves, body weight change) using established templates; present results at project team meetings.
• Contribute to a safe, efficient, compliant vivarium and lab environment.

Basic Qualifications

• Associate degree in animal science, biology, or related field with 5+ years of in vivo research/animal experience; or BS in animal science, biology, cancer biology, or related field with 2+ years of in vivo research/animal experience.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Vaccine Company will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with in vivo mouse work, including animal handling, dosing, and necropsy.
• Demonstrated ability to follow established study designs, protocols, and SOPs with high accuracy.
• Working knowledge of basic mammalian cell culture and aseptic technique.
• Experience working under IACUC-approved protocols.
• Strong organizational, documentation, and communication skills; collaborative mindset.
• Flexibility to provide occasional weekend or holiday coverage for dosing and study time points.
• Familiarity with in vivo imaging (e.g., bioluminescence, LI-COR Pearl imager).
• Experience with histology, IHC, and basic pathology interpretation.
• Familiarity with oncology tumor models (cell line xenograft, syngeneic, and/or PDX), including tumor cell implantation.
• Experience with IV (tail-vein) dosing, retro-orbital technique, survival surgery, and/or orthotopic implantation.
• Experience with basic flow cytometry (tissue dissociation, antibody staining, sample acquisition) and data analysis in FlowJo.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• This role is based on-site in a vivarium and laboratory/bench setting and involves standing, light lifting, and animal handling for extended periods.

• Reasonable accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Additional Information:

• The appointed candidate will work on site, full-time, in South San Francisco, California. 

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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