Immuno-Oncology Antibody Discovery Scientist (Lead)

Summit Therapeutics; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 197,000; Full time

Job summary

Summit Therapeutics Inc. is seeking a hands-on cell biology scientist to lead antibody screening and functional characterization in oncology and immunology. You will run binding assays, flow cytometry, and PBMC-based tumor-killing tests to advance candidates toward IND readiness.

You will design immune assays, assess effector functions (ADCC/CDC/ADCP), and contribute to correlating in vitro findings with in vivo PK/PD data, often coordinating with CROs and academia.

Qualifications

• PhD plus at least 3 years of industry experience in cell biology, immunology, cancer biology, or related field.
• Experience with multi-antibody characterization, including ELISA and cell-based binding assays for antibody screening.
• Hands-on experience with ADCC, CDC, and ADCP assays for antibody characterization.
• Experience with primary human PBMCs and isolated T cells and NK cells, including PBMC-based tumor-killing assays, T cell and NK cell activation assays, and Treg depletion assays.
• Able to work independently, with strong record of scientific communication across presentations, posters, and manuscripts, together with cross-functional collaboration experience.
• Assess emerging technologies, scientific literature, and competitive landscapes in oncology and immunology to inform innovation and pipeline development.
• Preferred: In vivo animal experience, PK/PD studies; antibody affinity measurement (SPR/BLI) and reporter-gene assays; publication record in IO; multiplex IHC or fluorescence microscopy; IND study reports.

Responsibilities

• Antibody Screening and Binding Characterization: perform ELISA to screen and rank candidate antibodies.
• Run cell-based binding assays on target-expressing tumor and immune cell lines to assess binding strength and specificity.
• Develop, optimize, and qualify assays; analyze and summarize screening data to support candidate selection.
• Immune-Cell Functional Assays: run PBMC-based tumor-killing assays and co-culture systems; measure T cell and NK activation, cytokine release, and cytotoxicity.
• Evaluate Treg depletion and shifts in immune-cell composition after antibody treatment.
• Fc-Effector Function Characterization: design and execute ADCC, CDC, and ADCP assays; compare Fc formats across models to understand mechanism of action and potency.
• Support animal studies including PK/PD to connect in vitro activity with in vivo exposure; collaborate with CROs and academic labs.

Skills

Cell biology

Immunology

Cancer biology

Antibody screening

ELISA

Flow cytometry

ADCC/CDC/ADCP

PBMCs

In vivo PK/PD

Scientific communication

Education

PhD + 3+ years industry

MS + 5+ years industry

Tools

SPR

BLI

ELISA reader

Job description

Summit Therapeutics Inc. is seeking a hands-on cell biology scientist to lead antibody screening and functional characterization in oncology and immunology. You will run binding assays, flow cytometry, and PBMC-based tumor-killing tests to advance candidates toward IND readiness.

You will design immune assays, assess effector functions (ADCC/CDC/ADCP), and contribute to correlating in vitro findings with in vivo PK/PD data, often coordinating with CROs and academia.