Exercise Your Options – Bio101
BIOTECHNOLOGY
BIOTECHNOLOGY
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Project Leader
Research
Associate
-Reagent PreparationTriax Therapeutics Inc. is
focused on developing its
proprietary, highly parallel
technologies
for
the
handling
of
DNA
molecules & fragments.
We currently have an
excellent opportunity in
our Timbuktu facility for an
experienced,
hands-on
researcher.
We
offer
excellent
compensation
and
benefits. To apply, please
send your resume to: Triax
Therapeutics, Inc., Attn:
Job #TBKTU 1999, 1008 70th
Street, Oak Way, CA
99900.
www.Triax.com
Research Asst/Assoc
Immunology
Assay Development
Kliegel Enterprises is a
fast-paced
biotechnology
company
using
revolutionary
transfer
technologies to identify &
validate
novel
drug
targets in immunology.
Exercise your options!
Join one of the fastest growing start-up biotech
companies in the area now and receive pre-IPO
stock options. We are committed to hiring quality
employees and recognize the need for providing
worthwhile incentives.
Lunagen is a start-up company devoted to
investigating novel chemotherapeutic agents.
Apply to:
Job #62641
Kliegel Enterprises
3168 Mel Way
Sweetwater, TN 34567
We are seeking two research assistants/associates
in assay development.
You must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills
and the ability to place phone and internet orders
for supplies. Candidates will have an AS, BS, MS, or
equivalent (0-5 years) exp. in cell biology/
immunology.
Salaries for all positions are competitive and based
on experience. All positions include full healthcare
benefits.
Mail/fax/email resume to:
Job Code LGN 61268
c/o Lunagen
4500 Raven Drive
Stonestown, CA 93124
Fax: 650-123-4567
Hr@Lunagen.com
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Lab Technician
Start-up company looking for tech
with tissue culture and molecular
biology exp. Fax res/sal history:
814-555-1212.
www.lunagen.com
Imagine that you have completed your coursework and
are applying for a job. Think about how much you have
already accomplished and what you wish to accomplish
in the future. It’s Sunday morning, the sun is streaming
through your living room window, your coffee (or
morning beverage of your choice) is giving you that
extra kick, and you feel ready to face the job hunt. You
grab a red pen, pick up the newspaper, scan the
classifieds for jobs, and zoom in on a promising
possibility—the chance to work for Lunagen, a start-up
biotech company offering pre-IPO stock options as a
hiring incentive. This opportunity is too good to pass
up!
What are pre-IPO stock options?
“IPO” stands for “initial public offering” which
refers to the time when companies go public with
their stock. When a company goes public, its
stock value most often increases dramatically. It is
an advantage to receive pre-IPO stock options
because it implies that the company is about to go
public (and is hence successful), and receiving
stock options is an extra, real benefit with
monetary value that will most likely increase over
time. Once you are vested (most often after 5
years), you can “exercise your options” and
receive a check (money!) for the value of your
options at that point in time.
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Exercise Your Options – Bio101
What do you need to do or know in order to apply for this position?
What is a chemotherapeutic agent?
You have no time to waste—bills keep piling up and
you need a steady income as soon as possible. Maybe
you even have student loans to pay back. You eagerly
turn on your computer and begin drafting (or updating)
your resume. As you do this, you think about the best
way to present yourself. While it may be uncomfortable
thinking about your strengths and weaknesses, it is still
important to highlight the skill set you would bring to a
job like the one for which Lunagen is advertising.
Traditionally, a chemotherapeutic agent is a type
of drug used in treating an illness such as cancer.
These drugs generally poison all body cells to
some extent while more specifically targeting
rapidly dividing cells (e.g., those responsible for
cancer). Ideal chemotherapeutic agents would be
even more specific to inhibiting the spread of or
starving diseased cells and therefore would have
less impact on all body cells. Lunagen’s quest is
to identify such a chemotherapeutic agent.
What is the purpose of a resume? What information should you include on your
resume? In what order?
Most often, you will also have to submit a cover letter with your resume to define more clearly
your objectives and qualifications for the position being offered. Assume that you must prepare a
letter to accompany your resume in order to apply for the Lunagen position.
What is the purpose of a cover letter? How is it different from a resume?
What information should you include in your cover letter?
At last … after submitting your resume and cover letter and waiting several weeks, you receive a
call from Lunagen inviting you for an interview, based on your outstanding resume and cover
letter. Now you will have to start thinking about how to prepare for your interview.
How do you prepare for an interview? What questions might you be asked?
What questions should you ask?
Once you have interviewed, you will most likely have to wait to hear about the company’s hiring
decision. As you are probably aware, this can be an anxiety-producing period. Do you just sit
around and wait?
What, if anything, should you do to follow up your interview?
2
Exercise Your Options – Bio101
Congratulations—Lunagen has offered you the job and you have accepted!
Now that you are an “insider,” you learn that Lunagen
recombinantly produced a protein (necrotin) that they
suspect may have chemotherapeutic potential (Figure 1).
They produced necrotin by inserting the gene into a
baculovirus vector, and then using this vector to
transform susceptible insect cells. Subsequently,
Lunagen’s tissue culture group collected the supernatant
from the transformed insect cells.
Your first task is to determine if the cells are producing
necrotin, the protein of interest (POI). Your team is
developing an ELISA to detect the presence of this POI
in the supernatant. To do this, you first have to order the
appropriate reagents for use in this ELISA. Then you will
actually perform the ELISA to test the reagents you
ordered.
Gene
inserted into
baculovirus
vector
Vect or used
to transform
insect cells
What is supernatant?
Supernatant is the liquid in which cells are grown
(transformed cells in the case of Lunagen). While
in that liquid, the cells secrete (or “spit out”) the
proteins they are making. Once cells have been
allowed enough time to make the protein of
interest (POI), the supernatant is collected and
tested for the presence of the POI.
What is an assay? What is an
ELISA?
“Assay” is the scientific term for a test. An assay
refers to a test used to determine the presence or
function of a substance such as a protein.
An ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)
uses the principles of antigen-antibody specificity
to detect the presence of one specific protein in a
complex mixture of proteins.
Supernatant
collected
from
transformed
insect cells
Need t o
perform
ELISA to
detec t
whether
protein of
interest is
present
Figure 1. Steps involved in producing necrotin, the protein of interest.
3