Immunology research scientist

GoGoGrandparent; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

GoGoGrandparent seeks a scientist to lead a research program using longitudinal blood samples from older adults. You will design and execute studies, pursue external funding through grants, and partner with clinical/operations teams on blood collection, processing, and biobanking.

This is a hands-on role spanning grant writing, study design, and field/lab-adjacent workflows. Responsibilities include designing studies using serial samples, defining endpoints, managing data quality, and publishing

Qualifications

• Experience with human biospecimen research (plasma/serum/PBMCs).
• Grant writing experience (PI or co-PI) and funded proposals.
• Familiarity with IRB protocols, informed consent, and human subjects research compliance.
• Strong scientific writing and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead observational and interventional studies using serial blood samples from older adult cohorts.
• Define research questions, endpoints and analysis plans related to aging and biomarkers.
• Oversee sample metadata, longitudinal linkage, quality control and data integrity.
• Analyze assay, clinical and longitudinal data; publish and present findings.
• Stay current on aging biology and biomarker technologies.
• Identify funding opportunities (NIH, foundations, industry) and lead grant proposals.
• Manage funded projects with timelines, milestones, and reporting.
• Collaborate with academic, clinical and industry partners on proposals and science.
• Help design blood collection protocols and oversee collection workflows.
• Ensure IRB/HIPAA/biosafety compliance and chain-of-custody requirements.
• Coordinate with labs/vendors for processing and long-term storage.
• Mentor research assistants and communicate progress to leadership.

Education

PhD or equivalent in biology/biochemistry/immunology/epidemiology/geriatric science/translational medicine

MD/DO with substantial research experience

Job description

Reports to: CEO
Location: Philadelphia, hybrid: remote + on-site lab work.
Employment type: Full-time
Travel: Occasional local travel for team offsites

About Us

GoGo’s mission is to help older adults age independently in their home for as long as possible. Today we do that by supporting them with their errands. For us to ever meaningfully advance the mission, we’d like to use our position as one of the largest membership groups of home bound older adults to advance science that helps address the age related diseases that impact them.

Role overview

We are seeking a scientist to lead a research program using longitudinally collected blood samples from older adults. Together with those blood samples, we have a lot of ambient information about them: what we’ve delivered to them to eat, what their homes look like, if they’re a smoker, etc. You will design and execute studies, pursue external funding through grants, and partner closely with clinical/operations teams on blood sample collection, processing, and biobanking. This is a hands‑on role spanning grant writing, study design, and field/lab‑adjacent sample workflows.

Key responsibilities

Research & science

• Design and lead observational and/or interventional studies using serial blood samples from older adult cohorts
• Define research questions, endpoints, and analysis plans related to aging, health trajectories, and/or blood‑based biomarkers
• Oversee sample metadata, longitudinal linkage, quality control, and data integrity
• Analyze or collaborate on analysis of assay, clinical, and longitudinal outcomes data; publish and present findings
• Stay current on aging biology, biomarkers, and relevant assay technologies

Grants & funding

• Identify funding opportunities (NIH, foundations, industry partners, other sponsors)
• Lead or co‑lead grant proposals: aims, significance, approach, biosketches, budgets, and supporting documents
• Manage funded projects including timelines, milestones, reporting, and compliance
• Build collaborations with academic, clinical, and industry partners to strengthen proposals and science

Sample collection & operations

• Help design and refine blood collection protocols (consent, visit schedule, tubes/anticoagulants, processing, storage, shipping)
• Support or supervise collection workflows with participants, phlebotomy staff, clinics, or home‑visit teams as applicable
• Ensure adherence to IRB/ethics, HIPAA/privacy, biosafety, and chain‑of‑custody requirements
• Coordinate with labs and vendors for processing, aliquoting, assays, and long‑term storage
• Troubleshoot collection/logistics issues and continuously improve yield, quality, and participant experience

Team & leadership

• Mentor research assistants as the program scales
• Communicate progress clearly to leadership and cross‑functional partners

Required Qualifications

• PhD (or equivalent) in biology, biochemistry, immunology, epidemiology, geriatric science, translational medicine, or related field; or MD/DO with substantial research experience
• Demonstrated experience with human biospecimen research, preferably plasma, sera or PBMCs
• Track record of grant writing (as PI, co‑I, or major contributor) and/or funded proposals
• Experience with IRB protocols, informed consent, and human subjects research compliance
• Strong scientific writing and project management skills
• Ability to work directly with multidisciplinary clinical/ops teams
• Experience harvesting plasma, sera & PBMCs from whole blood

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aging / geroscience / geriatric cohorts
• Familiarity with blood biomarker platforms (e.g., proteomics, metabolomics, inflammatory markers, epigenetic clocks, clinical chemistry)
• Prior responsibility for biobanking, sample SOPs, or multicenter collection
• Experience with statistical analysis of longitudinal data (or close collaboration with biostatisticians)
• Publications in relevant peer‑reviewed journals

What success looks like (first 12-18 months)

• Reliable longitudinal collection pipeline running with high sample quality and documentation
• At least 2 competitive grant submissions led or co‑led
• Clear research roadmap and early analyses / manuscripts in progress