Background
The mission of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is to rapidly accelerate the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease utilizing a venture philanthropy model. Founded in 1998, the ADDF is the only nonprofit dedicated solely to developing drugs and diagnostics for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
In 2018 with a coalition of philanthropists, the ADDF Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) was launched with the bold mission to accelerate the development of blood-based and digital biomarkers to detect, diagnose, and monitor Alzheimer's disease.
The DxA focuses on translating the knowledge we have gained about the causes of Alzheimer's disease into biomarkers to enable precision medicine. We support an array of biomarker approaches in different stages of development. The venture philanthropy model combines deep disease-focused expertise with funding for high-risk/high-reward translational programs from academia and biotechnology companies worldwide. By assuming the risk, the ADDF DxA enables leading scientists to pursue pioneering ideas that would otherwise go unexplored.
Position Description:
The Senior Program Officer working within the Diagnostics Accelerator team is a highly curious and motivated scientist seeking to accelerate the translation of biomarker research projects into products for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. As part of a venture philanthropy model that funds academic and biotechnology programs, this individual will serve as a subject matter expert on fluid and digital biomarkers, work with a team of scientists to support the management of the ADDF DxA research portfolio and strategic partnerships with industry, investors, and other funding agencies.
The Senior Program Officer will report directly to the Senior Director for Biomarker Development and will be overseen by ADDF’s Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer. Title will be commensurate with experience.
Key Responsibilities
- Scientific and strategic management of the ADDF DxA research portfolio:
- Perform in-depth scientific and business due diligence on submitted programs.
- Provide scientific guidance to applicants on the development of robust scientific workplans.
- Assist funded investigators to streamline workplans and budgets.
- Monitor funded program progress by ensuring projects meet established timelines and milestones, and work with investigators to troubleshoot when issues arise.
- Conduct research to proactively identify potential investment opportunities.
- Foster connections between researchers, consultants, and contract research organizations through ADDF DxA’s scientific network.
- Management of key partnerships that leverage funding and resources for DxA supported programs.
- Contribute to the authoring of proposals and scientific reports for donors and family foundations in collaboration with the Development Team and promote ADDF DxA’s scientific programs and initiatives by speaking at donor events.
- Contribute to generation of scientific content for general audiences in collaboration with the Communications Team. This includes donor reports, blogs, and website content.
- Develop scientific agendas for ADDF and DxA conferences and coordinate strategic advisory panels that address major obstacles or opportunities in Alzheimer’s drug development.
- Author peer-reviewed scientific publications that advance the mission and educational objectives of the ADDF.
Requirements
This position requires a PhD, PharmD or equivalent degree in a relevant biomedical discipline. A neuroscience background is preferred. The ideal candidate will have:
- At least 3 years of research experience in industry (either biotechnology or pharmaceutical) or academia (beyond postdoctoral training) with general knowledge of biomarkers (fluid and digital) and translational strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
- Demonstrated ability to strategize, conceptualize, plan, and analyze projects critically.
- Strong project and time management skills with the ability to manage competing requests.
- Experience with business due diligence is a plus.
- Excellent oral communications and writing skills with demonstrated ability to communicate to both scientific and lay audiences.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work closely with key opinion leaders, partner organizations, donors, and the ADDF staff across all disciplines.
Application Procedure
Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Please state “Senior Program Officer, DXA” on the subject line. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered. Applicants are directed to reach out to HR; please send a cover letter, resume and salary expectations to jobs@alzdiscovery.org.