Intern, Biochemistry

Job Title: Intern, Biochemistry

Reporting to:   Associate Director, Biochemistry

Location: Durham, North Carolina

About Pairwise:

Pairwise is a mission-driven, food+tech company dedicated to building a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables. Pairwise was founded in 2017 by scientists at Harvard University, MIT, and Broad Institute who are eminent in the field of gene editing, as well as biotechnology industry pioneers. Our team is tuned in to consumer food trends, and we believe that consumers deserve more variety and innovation in their fresh food choices. We are primed to deliver that innovation through one of the best gene-editing platforms in food and agriculture. Pairwise has an exclusive 5-year research collaboration with Bayer to develop products in corn, soybean, wheat, canola, and cotton. Plus, Pairwise is developing new types of consumer crops including berries and stone fruit. Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

About This Role:

We are seeking passionate, engaging, ready-to-learn interns to join us for Summer 2024. We are looking for interns with majors in: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biophysics, Biological Engineering or similar. Pairwise offers the opportunity of getting to work with industry leading scientists and professionals in a cutting edge, industry changing, food+tech company. Our interns will be integrated with our teams here at Pairwise to allow for hands-on learning in a fast-paced start-up environment. Interns will also have season long cap-stone projects that will add real value and help the team resolve real-world challenges they are currently facing. We like to have fun at Pairwise, so the summer won’t be all work and no play! Pairwise interns will not only have “Intern Only” meeting sessions to talk about their experience and share thoughts and feedback with each other, but will also have events to help with career and educational planning, and team building trips to share in the fun of summer in North Carolina.

Essential Functions:

• Execute protocols for vector plasmid cloning, as well as expression, purification, and quantitation of RNA.
• Develop in vitro biochemical assays to test CRISPR guide RNA configurations for plants.
• Collaborate closely with biochemistry and molecular biology scientists to incorporate improvements into genome editing tools for high value crops.
• Communicate progress and results in biochemistry team meetings and presentations.
• Maintain detailed electronic laboratory (ELN) records of experiments and findings to support future development and intellectual property filings.

Required Education & Experience:

• A student currently enrolled in a Bachelors, Masters or PhD program in one of the following disciplines, with some bench-level laboratory experience:
  • Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biophysics, Biological Engineering, or similar.
• Basic knowledge of nucleic acid and protein chemistry.
• Ability to communicate effectively with other scientists, business partners, and collaborators.   
• Willingness to adhere to safe laboratory practices, including use of PPE, SDSs and proper handling and disposal of laboratory waste.  

Offerings:

• Paid internship experience in a field relevant to your studies!
• Real-world, industry work experience.
• Casual work environment.
• Mission-driven organization focused on creating healthier fruits and veggies.
• A cutting-edge, driven community looking to lead the industry in innovation and nutrition.

EEO Statement:
We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.