Leading the FightAgainst Solid Tumors
About Us
Pioneering Novel Approaches
to Deliver on the Promise of TILs
At Turnstone, our mission is to develop and deliver new medicines to treat patients with solid tumors.
Solid tumors represent the greatest unmet need in oncology. They account for over 90% of all cancer cases and contribute a substantial disease burden to society. Approved immunotherapies have been a significant advancement in the treatment of solid tumors, however, many patients do not respond to such therapies and the vast majority of these patients experience relapsed disease. We believe the biggest challenge in creating curative immunotherapies for patients with solid tumors is the large number and diversity of T-cells, known as tumor-reactive T-cells, that are needed to recognize and attack the tumor.
To overcome this barrier, we are pioneering a next-generation approach with tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy based on the identification, selection and expansion of these tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs). We are advancing a differentiated pipeline of Selected TIL therapies to address the most significant challenges in the field, including their development in clinical combinations with our proprietary viral immunotherapies, to further potentiate the therapeutic benefit of our TILs.
-
One Turnstone
-
One Focus
-
One Fight
Leadership
Experienced Team of
Leaders and Innovators
Turnstone has assembled a seasoned management team, an accomplished Board of Directors and a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board whose contributions to science have meaningfully advanced the field and helped inform our understanding of the relationship between cancer and the immune system.
Our passionate team of leaders comprises world-renowned professionals with deep expertise in TILs, cell therapy, tumor immunology, innate and adaptive immunity, oncolytic viruses, and in the discovery and development, manufacturing, and business and commercial development of complex biologics.
Sammy Farah, PhD, MBA
President & Chief Executive Officer
Stewart Abbot, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Saryah Azmat
Chief Business Officer
Christine Blodgett
Vice President, Human Resources
Mike Burgess, MBChB, PhD
Interim Chief Medical Officer
P. Joseph Campisi, Jr., Esq.
General Counsel
José Manuel Otero, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Venkat Ramanan, PhD
Chief Financial Officer
David Stojdl, PhD
SVP, Discovery Research
Chad Green, PhD
SVP, Technical Operations
TJ Langer
SVP, Cell Therapy Development and External Innovation
Adina Pelusio
SVP, Clinical Operations
Karen Major
VP, Regulatory
George Smith, MBA, PhD
VP, Cell Therapy Business Operations
James Mulé, IPhD
Scientific Director of Cell-Based Therapies
Moffitt Cancer Center
Eric Tran, PhD
Adoptive Cell Therapy Laboratory Lead
Providence Cancer Institute
Jerel Davis, PhD
Chairman & Director
Versant Ventures
Mike Burgess, MBChB, PhD
Executive Director
Turnstone Biologics
Sammy Farah, PhD, MBA
Director
Turnstone Biologics
Robert Gould
Director
Fulcrum Therapeutics
Rishi Gupta, JD
Director
OrbiMed
Stefan Larson, PhD
Director
Sectoral Asset Management
Patrick Machado
Director
Former CFO/CBO Medivation
Santhosh Palani, PhD
Director
PFM Health Sciences
Kanya Rajangam, MD, PhD
Director
Senti Biosciences
Jeff Courtney
In Memoriam
Our Approach
Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a type of cell therapy that harnesses the patient’s own immune cells to target their tumors. TIL therapy involves the isolation of lymphocytes from the patient’s tumor, expansion of the isolated cells outside the body, and then infusion of the cells back into the patient. TILs have the ability to penetrate, recognize, and kill cancer cells and offer potential to successfully treat, and potentially cure, solid tumors.
Turnstone’s next-generation Selected TILs have the potential to drive therapeutic benefit in a wide range of solid tumors beyond first-generation TIL approaches. Our innovative Selected TIL approach focuses on selecting and manufacturing the most potent subsets of tumor-reactive T-cells to overcome the limitations of current treatments. This approach is grounded in work conducted in academia that demonstrated promising clinical responses for selected TILs in solid tumors. We are leveraging this work to establish a standardized manufacturing process for large scale production of our Selected TILs.
Our Selected TIL approach employs the following foundational principles to yield the greatest number and proportion of tumor-reactive T-cells in our TIL products:
-
Unbiased identification of patient-specific tumor antigens.
We seek to identify the most expansive breadth of patient-specific tumor antigens by using an unbiased identification process aimed to capture the greatest diversity of antigens that can drive the most robust T-cell response against the right target.
-
Selection of greatest breadth of tumor-reactive T-cells from patient extracted TILs.
Our goal is to capture and isolate the full repertoire of a patients’ tumor-reactive T-cells that have the potential to attack and destroy heterogeneous solid tumors. We aim to select the greatest diversity of T-cells by using a functional-based screening process that confirms reactivity to tumor antigens rather than relying on a bioinformatics-based prediction algorithm.
-
Expansion of all tumor-reactive T-cells and removal of all non-tumor-reactive bystander cells.
We expand our selected tumor-reactive TIL population to magnitudes consistent with bulk TIL products and actively remove unnecessary bystander cells, which have the potential to decrease TIL efficacy through competition with tumor-reactive T-cells and/or drive immunosuppression. This selective expansion has resulted in a significantly higher absolute number and proportion of tumor-reactive T-cells in the final product, which we believe will result in more potent tumor killing.
Our Superior Killing Virus, or SKV Vaccinia, is derived from the Copenhagen strain of vaccinia that exhibits powerful oncolytic activity in human tumors and we have engineered the viral backbone to develop a highly potent viral immunotherapy. The SKV Vaccinia backbone modifications were specifically designed and selected to support:
- Enhanced immune activation through removal of immunosuppressive genes
- Highly selective tumor targeting for increased potency and safety
- Delivery of multiple transgenes to encode for specific functions
- Optimized viral spread and infection in the tumor
- Systemic and intra-tumoral (IT) administration
RIVAL-01, our lead clinical stage viral immunotherapy program, being developed in partnership with Takeda, utilizes the inherent activity of the SKV Vaccinia backbone and includes a rationally selected payload combination designed to further drive oncolytic and immune-mediated killing of the tumor. The three key payloads encoded in RIVAL-01 include:
- Flt3L, a growth factor to support the differentiation and expansion of highly relevant antigen-presenting dendritic cells which are critical for anti-tumor immune response
- IL-12, a pro-inflammatory cytokine to promote T-cell cytotoxicity, activate innate immune cells and minimize immunosuppression
- Anti-CTLA-4, an antibody that inhibits CTLA-4-mediated immunosuppression and downregulation of T-cell activation
We believe that Turnstone is uniquely positioned to be the world leader in leveraging viral immunotherapy to further potentiate the therapeutic benefit of TILs.
Viral immunotherapy is a therapeutic modality with widespread potential to drive and modulate immune responses to solid tumors. Many viruses have inherent oncolytic activity that can be modulated through genetic engineering to enhance potency and safety. These viruses preferentially infect, replicate within, and kill malignant tumor cells, and can induce broad immune responses. Viral immunotherapies are designed to convert immunologically unresponsive “cold” tumors to more reactive “hot” tumor microenvironments (“TME”) and thereby enhance the activity of other immunotherapies.
We intend to evaluate our proprietary oncolytic viral immunotherapies in combination with our lead Selected TIL product candidate, TIDAL-01, via two approaches:
- Treatment of the patient with oncolytic virus prior to TIL extraction to optimize TIL harvest and broaden applicability to additional tumor types with low immune cell infiltration.
- Treatment of the patient with oncolytic virus following treatment with TIDAL-01 to optimize TIL trafficking and infiltration into solid tumors and further deepen the response and durability of our Selected TIL therapies.
Pipeline
Designed to Shift the Paradigm
for the Treatment of Solid Tumors
Our Selected TIL approach has the potential to drive therapeutic benefit and curative outcomes across multiple challenging solid tumors. Leveraging our Selected TILs as well as our viral immunotherapy, we are advancing a broad pipeline aimed at overcoming limitations in existing treatments for cancer patients with critical unmet need.
| Platform | Program | Overview | Indication | Discovery | Preclinical | Phase 1/2 | Phase 3 | Study Collaborator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Selected TILs
|
||||||||
| TIDAL-01 | Neoantigen selected tumor-specific TILs to drive TIL product potency | Cutaneous Melanoma Uveal Melanoma |
+
|
 |
||||
| Breast Cancer Colorectal Cancer |
+
|
|||||||
| Combination with proprietary oncolytic viral immunotherapy | Colorectal Cancer |
OV monotherapy dose escalation ongoing
|
 |
|||||
| TIDAL-02 | Broad antigen selected tumor-specific TILs with streamlined manufacturing and TIL quality enhancements | Cervical Cancer Head & Neck Cancer Lung Cancer |
|
 |
||||
| TIDAL-03 | Engineered selected TILs optimized for functional persistence and elimination of IL-2 toxicities | Solid Tumors |
|
|||||
|
Viral Immunotherapy
|
||||||||
| RIVAL Discovery | Takeda collaboration for novel viral immunotherapies | Undisclosed |
|
 |
||||
| Selected TILs | |||
| Discovery | Preclinical | Phase 1/2 | Phase 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
TIDAL-01 |
|||
TIDAL-01 + |
|||
TIDAL-01 OV monotherapy dose escalation ongoing |
|||
TIDAL-02 |
|||
TIDAL-03 |
|||
| Viral Immunotherapy | |||
| Discovery | Preclinical | Phase 1/2 | Phase 3 |
RIVAL Discovery |
|||
Takeda maintains right to license select RIVAL Discovery program candidates
OV (oncolytic viral) monotherapy dose escalation trial ongoing – Clinical trial identifier: NCT04301011
Partners
Optimizing Technological Innovations
Through Strategic Partnerships
We are backed by successful top-tier life science and biotech investors committed to Turnstone’s growth, and have forged select collaborations with key academic institutions, major biopharmaceutical companies, elite researchers and prominent international cancer medical centers to accelerate the development of our next-generation Selected TIL and immunotherapy pipeline.
Together with our strategic partners, we are devoted to delivering transformative therapies to the millions of cancer patients underserved by current treatment options.
Key Collaborators
In November 2022, Turnstone announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study TIL therapy in novel combinations with viral immunotherapy.
In July 2022, Turnstone announced a first-of-its-kind broad strategic alliance with Moffitt Cancer Center focused on the development of Turnstone’s pipeline of tumor-reactive selected TILs targeting solid tumors.
In April 2022, Turnstone announced a TIL therapy research collaboration with CRCHUM to develop novel strategies for tumor-reactive T-cell selection in Turnstone’s TIL therapy candidates against solid tumor indications.
In December 2019, Turnstone announced a global collaboration and license agreement with Takeda to develop novel viral immunotherapies from Turnstone’s proprietary vaccinia virus platform for a broad range of cancer indications.
Select Investors
News
Careers
Empowering Our People
to Drive Science Forward
Turnstone is committed to true innovation, fearless execution and operational excellence. Our team work with an unrelenting sense of urgency to fulfill our mission. Our decision-making is driven by bold science and our therapeutics are designed with the patient at the forefront of our thoughts.
We continue to build a values-driven organization that embraces diversity, equity, and recognizes that the sum of our parts drives more success than any single individual. Our talented people and deeply ingrained culture are vital elements in maintaining our competitive edge in the vast biotech universe and key to unlocking the full potential of cancer immunotherapy.
If you are passionate about making a difference for patients and are excited by our mission and science, Turnstone might just be for you.
Team Opportunities
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected? Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’? If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Job Description
The Lab Operations Manager is responsible for oversight of Turnstone’s R&D laboratory at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. The Lab Operations Manager will oversee all aspects of the laboratory and site to ensure optimal operational efficiencies. They will apply technical expertise to inform decision-making and coordinate with Scientific teams to prioritize and organize objectives.
Responsibilities include:
- Procurement and supply chain of all laboratory needs, warehouse management and shipping/receiving
- Management of lab utilities, equipment calibration/preventative maintenance, overseeing lab and facility cleaning
- Active communication with all team members to support their activities and enhance productivity
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders, vendors and collaborators to manage budgets and timelines
- Responsible for maintaining a safe work environment in compliance with local health and safety regulations, routinely review and update health and biosafety policies as needed, and support staff training based on institutional safety and operational requirements.
- Administrative responsibilities include: maintaining all necessary permitting for lab operations, selection and management of vendors, management of equipment, facility maintenance and maintenance of biological and consumable inventories, invoice approvals, budgeting and staff on-boarding.
Preferred Experience:
- BS degree in life sciences
- Multiple years of experience in facility and laboratory management
- Experience with Biosafety Level 2 / CL2 materials and work areas
- Establishing and ensuring compliance with lab safety policies
- Knowledge and commitment of laboratory Occupational Health and Safety Procedures
- Laboratory equipment preventative maintenance, calibration and qualification
- Vendor and supply chain management
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate and communicate with cross functional stakeholders throughout the organization
- Development and implementation of laboratory policies
- Self-starter with a strong work ethic and attention to detail
- Prior experience in fast paced, hands-on work environments
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected? Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’? If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Turnstone Biologics is seeking a Senior Scientist to play a key role in the development of Turnstone Biologics’ growing pipeline of T cell products. This is an exciting opportunity to work alongside senior researchers, project teams and in a cross-functional setting to perform discovery and development research that will ultimately create new medicines for cancer patients.
What would the role be like?
Turnstone’s T Cell therapy technology is based around an exciting new Selected-TIL process that revolutionizes the generation of tumor targeted T cells for adoptive cell therapy. Your role will be to join a team of immunologists who invent and develop these next gen T cell products for preclinical and clinical evaluation. There will be additional opportunities to continually refine the technology and manufacturing processes for this class defining therapy. If you have experience with T cell manipulation, engineering, and culture then this opportunity may be just what you are looking for.
You will work alongside senior researchers, support activities and mentor direct reports as well as contribute in cross-functional project teams at our state of the art facilities in San Diego. We have an open, transparent, and dynamic culture that embraces scientific excellence, integrity, urgency, partnerships with key stakeholders and continuous learning/improvements.
What’s in it for you?
In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop your ability to think strategically and mentor others while driving fast-paced execution in a highly collaborative and cross-functional environment. With our company size and growth, we will give you plenty of opportunities to be an inspirational and collaborative co-functional leader. We are in the early stages of building strategies, structures, and process so this role will be busy and expanding. You would have the opportunity to create something new and grow your career right along with the company.
The Responsibilities include the following:
- Design and oversee execution of in vitro studies to understand T cell activity, function, cell state and phenotype from human and rodent tissues.
- Participate individually or as part of project teams to schedule and manage complex multi-disciplinary experiments including data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
- Compile data/figures and generate comprehensive presentations to communicate results and plans with key stakeholders
- Ensure high ethic standards and that study reports are accurately generated in a timely manner
- Supervise and/or mentor team members
- Contribute to a team-centric culture that embraces scientific excellence, integrity, and urgency
How do you know if you’re the right fit?
- Ph.D. in Immunology/Oncology (research primarily focused in immunology) with post graduate experience and/or biotech or pharmaceutical industry experience
- Deep knowledge and experience in T cell function/differentiation/signaling/regulation, metabolism/phenotypic analysis, understanding of inhibitory and costimulatory targets and pathways and/or neoantigen biology and vaccines is highly preferred.
- Robust understanding of innate and adaptive immune cells in anti-tumor responses is required
- Expert knowledge of immune based in vitro assays, flow cytometry and common molecular techniques.
- Experience with T cell engineering highly preferred
- People management and project leadership experience is preferred
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces scientific excellence, integrity, urgency and continuous learning/improvement.
Position Overview:
Turnstone’s T cell therapy technology is based on a Selected-TIL process that revolutionizes the generation of tumour targeted T cells for adoptive cell therapy. We are looking for a passionate and driven team player with experience in molecular biology, cell culture, flow cytometry and immunologic assays to help develop these next gen T cell products for preclinical and clinical evaluation. You will work along side senior researchers at our Ottawa research facility (located at Carleton University), designing and executing cell-based immunology studies following established standard operating procedures (SOPs). In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop your ability to think strategically, drive fast-paced execution and collaborate with team members across the research department.
Responsibilities:
- Design and execute in vitro studies to understand T cell activity, function, cell state and phenotype from human tissues.
- Perform isolation, expansion and phenotyping of various immune cell populations (T cells, DCs and B cells) for use in immunologic assays.
- Generate quality data and study summary reports in a timely manner and communicate findings to senior research staff and program teams.
- Write and review SOPs and oversee training of team members.
- Contribute to a team-centric culture that embraces scientific excellence, collaboration, hard-work and continuous personal and scientific development.
Experience:
- BSc or MSc (ideally focused cell biology and/or immunology). Co-op or research experience is highly valued.
- Understanding and experience with mammalian cell culture, standard molecular biology techniques such as ELISA, western blots, flow cytometry and cell-based and biochemical assays such ICS, chemotaxis and cytotoxicity assays is required.
- Knowledge and experience with in vivo pre-clinical models is preferred.
- Knowledge and experience with viruses and vaccines is preferred.
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected. Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’. If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Job Description
The Scientist/Engineer, Senior Scientist/Engineer will be key contributor to process development for the cell therapy programs at Turnstone Biologics. Primary responsibilities include experimental design, execution and analysis of studies focused on characterizing and improving Turnstone’s TIL cell therapy manufacturing processes. The candidate will also be responsible for authoring study protocols and reports, drafting GMP documentation, supporting technology transfer, and supporting the MSAT and manufacturing teams during GMP production. The role requires expertise in aseptic cell culture, use of standard equipment for cell therapy processing, data analysis and trending and, basic analytics for cell therapies. Essential to the role will be collaboration with cross functional stakeholders. The Scientist/Engineer, Senior Scientist/Engineer will collaborate with research, process development, manufacturing, quality and regulatory teams to ensure process development studies are effectively designed, executed, analyzed and reported. The position reports to the Associate Director, Process Development, and will be located in San Diego, CA.
Summary of Key Responsibilities
- Lead design and execution of laboratory studies to support process design and development, characterization, and improvements
- Collaborate with the analytical development team to perform analytical test methods, including flow cytometry, on samples from process development studies
- Maintain detailed experimental records in lab notebooks, analyze and interpret data, and present data to cross functional teams in research, process development, manufacturing and quality
- Participate in cross-functional team meetings and report results to advance process development activities
- Support process technology transfer and qualification at contract manufacturing organizations
- Provide technical support to the internal manufacturing and QC teams during deviation and OOS investigations
- Author protocols, reports and SOPs to document development studies and enable efficient transfer of process improvements to manufacturing
- Utilize appropriate statistical methods to design studies and analyze development data
- Contribute to process sections of regulatory submissions and related information requests
- Provide mentorship and training to new and/or junior team members
Qualifications
- BS or MS in cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, biochemical engineering, bioengineering or related disciplines with at least 5 years process development experience. Role commensurate with experience and background
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross functional stakeholders in the design and execution of process development studies across multiple platforms commonly used in industrial cell therapy applications
- Technical expertise in aseptic cell culture
- Technical expertise with T-cell culture preferred
- Prior experience with industrial cell therapy manufacturing equipment
- Prior experience with flow cytometry and cell-based functional assays preferred
- Prior experience in technology transfer to internal or contract manufacturing teams preferred
- Prior experience with statistical analysis of data, design of experiments and use of JMP software preferred
- Working knowledge of cGMPs and relevant regulatory guidelines, with experience in authorship of regulatory submissions preferred
- Prior experience working across multiple projects in a fast paced, hands-on environment
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected. Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’. If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Job Description
The Research Associate/Senior Research Associate/Associate Scientist will be a key individual contributor to process development for the cell therapy programs at Turnstone Biologics. Primary responsibilities include execution of process development studies, analytical testing of samples and support for ongoing data analysis and interpretation. The candidate will also support technology transfer to contract manufacturers and sustaining support for GMP manufacturing. The role requires experience in aseptic cell culture, with preference for experience with culture of T-cells. Essential to the role will be collaboration with cross functional stakeholders. The Research Associate/Senior Research Associate/Associate Scientist will collaborate with research, analytical development, and manufacturing teams to ensure process development studies are well designed, executed and analyzed. The position reports to the Associate Director, Process Development, and will be located in San Diego, CA.
Summary of Key Responsibilities
- Execute experiments supporting process development for clinical and pre-clinical cell therapy programs
- Participate in cross-functional team meetings and report results to advance process development activities
- Maintain detailed experimental records in lab notebooks, analyze and interpret data, and present data to cross functional teams in research, process development, manufacturing and quality
- Assist in technology transfer to GMP manufacturing by generating development reports and providing on-site technical support
- Provide process support to the internal manufacturing and QC teams during deviation and OOS investigations
- Author protocols, reports and SOPs to document development studies and ensure method standardization
- Utilize appropriate statistical methods to design studies and analyze development data
Qualifications
- BS or MS in cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related discipline with at least 1 year of relevant experience
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross functional stakeholders in the execution of experimental studies and reporting of data
- Ability to follow laboratory procedures with attention to detail, and successfully execute process development studies
- Prior experience with aseptic cell culture and cell-based assays
- Prior experience with T-cell culture preferred
- Prior experience in process development for cell therapies preferred
- Prior experience with industrial cell therapy manufacturing equipment preferred
- Prior experience in technology transfer to internal or contract manufacturing teams preferred
- Prior experience with statistical analysis of data, design of experiments and use of JMP software preferred
- Prior experience working across multiple projects in a fast paced, hands-on environment
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected? Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’? If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Position Overview:
- Quoting, arranging, and handling of time-critical and temperature-controlled shipments.
- Identify and select carriers and vendors who will meet service requirements for shipments
- Determine pick-up and export routing, documentation requirements, and filing of custom queries upon request.
- Log, track and analyze for final KPI’s all the data from each shipment, must maintain accurate and organize records and chain of custody.
- Support team members with other duties as required, such assisting requestors with problem resolution and owning the projects from beginning to end.
- Work with external partners Brokers, CMOs, CTO’s, Storage Vendors.
- Participate in cross-functional teams that support process improvements and/or team development.
- Identify and resolve delivery related issues through timely communication with internal teams, carriers, and external partners.
- This is a global role; candidates must be cognizant of time zones and flexible enough to be able to work within them.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, business or related discipline.
- Ability to function in a team environment and pursue information when it is not readily available. Comfortable in a fast-paced company environment and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities, and willing to accept temporary responsibilities outside of initial job description.
- Strong communication skills to ensure regular and effective communication within the business and externally with 3rd parties.
- Customer service focused/mindset / Continuous Improvement mind-set.
- Used to working at a high speed in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Familiarity with international supply chain constituents; brokers, freight forwarders, freight providers, carriers, CMOs/CROs, depot/warehouse providers, and regulatory standards such as permits, labeling and transportation rules.
- Knowledge of Packing and Material Management operation in accordance with GMP manuals and guidance as well as experience with transport and temperature control practices such as, temperature monitoring, labels required by the TSA and DOT, types of labeling codes and Harmonized tariff input.
- Experience maintaining spreadsheets and other databases of information as required.
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected. Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’. If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Job Description
The Research Associate/Senior Research Associate will be key contributor to analytical development for the cell therapy programs at Turnstone Biologics. Primary responsibilities include development of novel potency assays, development and optimization of existing flow cytometry characterization methods and analytical support for internal process development and research on Turnstone’s portfolio of next generation cell therapy technology. The candidate will also support analytical technology transfer to contract manufacturers and sustaining support for analytical testing during GMP manufacturing. The role requires experience in use of analytical methods for cell characterization, with preference for experience with flow cytometry and cell-based functional assays. Essential to the role will be collaboration with cross functional stakeholders. The Research Associate/Senior Research Associate will collaborate with research, process development and manufacturing teams to ensure analytical methods are effectively designed and developed. The position reports to the Associate Director, Analytical Development, and will be located in San Diego, CA.
Summary of Key Responsibilities
- Perform new and existing analytical methods in support of cell therapy product development
- Collaborate with research and process development to support design and development of robust cell-based potency assays
- Perform flow cytometry for phenotypic characterization of in-process and final product cells
- Support development of cutting-edge analytics and data visualization workflows for both flow cytometry and RNA/DNA sequencing data
- Maintain detailed experimental records in lab notebooks, analyze and interpret data, and present data to cross functional teams in research, process development, manufacturing and quality
- Perform previously established methods in support of process development, product release and stability, and product characterization
- Support development of analytical methods to quantify and characterize genetic stability and detect on and off target genetic editing of T cells
- Support instrument and reagent standardization, and instrument performance optimization for analytical methods
- Support analytical technology transfer and method qualification at contract manufacturing organizations
- Provide analytical support to the internal manufacturing and QC teams during deviation and OOS investigations
- Author protocols, reports and SOPs to document development studies and ensure method standardization
- Utilize appropriate statistical methods to design studies and analyze development data
Qualifications
- BS in cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related discipline with 0-3 years analytical development experience.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross functional stakeholders in the execution of the analytical method development across multiple platforms
- Prior experience with flow cytometry, qPCR, NGS, cell counting and ELISA preferred
- Prior experience in design and development of cell-based functional assays preferred
- Prior experience in analytical technology transfer to internal or contract manufacturing teams preferred
- Prior experience with statistical analysis of data, including use of JMP software
- Prior experience working across multiple projects in a fast paced, hands-on environment
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills
To Apply:
Please click here to apply!
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Turnstone Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new medicines to treat and cure solid tumors by pioneering a differentiated approach with a clinically validated technology, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Turnstone’s innovative TIL therapy, which is designed to extend the efficacy of TILs to multiple solid tumor indications by selecting and manufacturing the most potent tumor-reactive T-cells (Selected TILs) for tumor eradication, represents the Company’s foundational therapeutic modality driving its cancer immunotherapy pipeline. The Company recently commenced two clinical trials in various solid tumor types with its lead Selected TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, one of which is in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center. Turnstone is developing additional strategies to further potentiate the clinical benefit of Selected TILs, including use in combination with their novel viral immunotherapy.
At Turnstone, the science drives decision-making and our therapeutics are designed with the patient foremost in mind. We continue to build a world-class, high-performing company that embraces being a learning organization with a sense of urgency. Imagine coming to work every day where over-communication, transparency, teaching, listening, asking, thinking, working hard, and having fun are normal – actually, expected. Imagine having a coach, mentor, peers, and partners where candid feedback, self-improvement, risk taking, failing, learning from that failing, and succeeding thereafter are what we call ‘another day at Turnstone’. If you are a passionate person, and our science excites you – this opportunity may be for you.
Job Description
The Scientist/Senior Scientist will be key contributor to analytical development for the cell therapy programs at Turnstone Biologics. Primary responsibilities include development of novel potency assays, development and optimization of existing flow cytometry characterization methods and analytical support for internal process development and research on Turnstone’s portfolio of next generation cell therapy technology. The candidate will also be responsible for supporting analytical technology transfer to contract manufacturers and sustaining support for analytical testing during GMP manufacturing. The role requires expertise in flow cytometry and prior experience applying rigorous analytical development principles to the design of cell-based functional assays. Essential to the role will be collaboration with cross functional stakeholders. The Scientist/Senior Scientist will collaborate with research, process development, manufacturing, quality and regulatory teams to ensure analytical methods are effectively designed, characterized, controlled, documented and compliant. The position reports to the Associate Director, Analytical Development, and will be located in San Diego, CA.
Summary of Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute new and existing analytical methods in support of cell therapy product development
- Collaborate with research and process development to design and develop robust cell-based potency assays
- Troubleshoot and optimize existing flow cytometry characterization panels to improve robustness and test method workflows
- Design and develop expanded flow cytometry panels for improved phenotypic characterization
- Design and develop high dimensional flow cytometry panels for deep immunophenotyping using conventional and spectral flow cytometry
- Develop cutting-edge analytics and data visualization workflows for both flow cytometry and RNA/DNA sequencing data, ensuring results are both reproducible and auditable
- Maintain detailed experimental records in lab notebooks, analyze and interpret data, and present data to cross functional teams in research, process development, manufacturing and quality
- Perform previously established methods in support of process development, product release and stability, and product characterization
- Support development of analytical methods to quantify and characterize genetic stability and detect on and off target genetic editing of T cells
- Support instrument and reagent standardization, and instrument performance optimization for analytical methods
- Support analytical technology transfer and method qualification at contract manufacturing organizations
- Provide analytical support to the internal manufacturing and QC teams during deviation and OOS investigations
- Author protocols, reports and SOPs to document development studies and ensure method standardization
- Utilize appropriate statistical methods to design studies and analyze development data
- Contribute to analytical sections of regulatory submissions and related information requests
Qualifications
- BS in cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related discipline with at least 5 years analytical development experience. PhD preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross functional stakeholders in the design and execution of the analytical method development across multiple platforms
- Technical expertise in multi-color flow cytometry
- Prior experience with qPCR, NGS, cell counting and ELISA
- Prior experience in design and development of cell-based functional assays preferred
- Prior experience in assay standardization and qualification for cell therapy
- Prior experience with assay validation preferred
- Prior experience in analytical technology transfer to internal or contract manufacturing teams preferred
- Prior experience with statistical analysis of data, including use of JMP software
- Working knowledge of cGMPs and relevant regulatory guidelines, with experience in authorship of regulatory submissions preferred
- Familiarity with ICH and USP guidelines for analytical method development preferred
- Prior experience working across multiple projects in a fast paced, hands-on environment
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills
To Apply:
Turnstone Biologics welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected will be invited for an interview.
Contact
General Inquiries
info@turnstonebio.com
Partner
with Us
bd@turnstonebio.com
Talent Acquisition
hr@turnstonebio.com
Investors & Media
ir@turnstonebio.com
Clinical Trial Inquiries
ct@turnstonebio.com
California
9310 Athena Circle
Suite 300
La Jolla, CA 92037, US
(347) 897-5988
New York
920 Broadway
16th Floor
New York, NY 10010, US
(347) 897-5988
Ontario
12 York Street
3rd Floor
Ottawa, ON K1N 5S6, CA
(613) 421-8930
