Ocular Research Scientist I — Retina Therapeutics

ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is seeking a Senior Scientist I to lead ocular research programs from discovery through preclinical candidate validation. The role focuses on AMD and retinal diseases, with hands-on work in in vivo mouse models, ocular imaging, RNAscope, and single-cell RNA sequencing.

Collaboration across discovery biology, oligo/chemistry, DMPK, and safety teams is essential. The ideal candidate has a Ph.D.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Ophthalmology/Vision Science, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Pharmacology, or closely related discipline
• Minimum 3-4 years biotech/pharma experience in retinal/ocular drug discovery
• Designing and conducting preclinical ocular research
• Strong knowledge of retinal anatomy, physiology, disease mechanisms, and ocular pharmacology
• Hands-on experience with in vivo ocular rodent models (handling, dosing, IVT/SR injections, exams, microdissection of retina/RPE-choroid)
• Experience with ERG and OCT in vivo functional/structural assessments
• Single-cell RNA sequencing of ocular or neural tissues; analysis including QC, clustering, cell-type annotation, differential expression
• RNAscope image acquisition, analysis, controls, and interpretation of spatial expression
• Molecular biology techniques: RNA isolation, RT-qPCR, gene expression, Western blot, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence
• Independent work style with collaboration; strong written/verbal communication; proficiency in MS Office, Adobe Pro, Prism

Responsibilities

• Lead and participate in discovery, characterization, and validation of novel approaches for extrahepatic siRNA and RNA editing in ophthalmology targets
• Develop and characterize ocular mouse models relevant to AMD and related diseases including geographic atrophy, neovascular AMD, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema
• Establish ocular in vivo systems to screen siRNAs via various ocular delivery methods in rodents
• Perform animal monitoring, tissue collection, necropsy, and sample processing per protocols
• Dissect ocular tissues including retina and RPE/choroid
• Conduct functional/structural ophthalmic assessments (ERG, OCT, fundus imaging, fluorescein angiography)
• Design RNAscope studies to evaluate oligonucleotide distribution and RNA expression in ocular tissues
• Plan and execute single-cell RNA sequencing from retinal tissues; support dissociation, library prep and analysis
• Integrate multi-omics data (scRNA-seq, RNAscope, RT-qPCR, histology, imaging) to assess therapeutic activity
• In vitro studies using retinal, RPE, endothelial, microglia, iPSC-derived cells; perform gene/protein expression分析
• Collaborate with discovery biology, oligo/chem, DMPK, and non-clinical safety teams
• Maintain records and prepare reports, presentations, and regulatory documents; communicate findings to teams

Job description

ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is seeking a Senior Scientist I to lead ocular research programs from discovery through preclinical candidate validation. The role focuses on AMD and retinal diseases, with hands-on work in in vivo mouse models, ocular imaging, RNAscope, and single-cell RNA sequencing.

Collaboration across discovery biology, oligo/chemistry, DMPK, and safety teams is essential. The ideal candidate has a Ph.D.