Postdoctoral Associate
CAMP Flagship Project 3 – Computational imaging and instrumentation for monitoring of cell
morphology and adherent cell proliferation
SMART - CAMP Program Overview
SMART CAMP (Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine) is a new
interdisciplinary research programme in Singapore (CREATE international research campus and
innovation hub) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). SMART CAMP addresses
key technology bottlenecks in cell therapy manufacturing: (i) critical quality attributes of safe,
effective cell therapy products; and (ii) integrated process analytics to monitor and modulate those
attributes. While cell therapies are poised to transform healthcare for both the industry and the
patient, there remain many outstanding scientific and technical challenges to significant global
impact that this R&D programme addresses. This high-impact focus includes measurement and
feedback control of processing parameters (process analytic technologies, or PAT) that contribute
to cell viability and function during cell proliferation, and the measurement at intermediate and
final steps of the cell product properties correlated with positive therapeutic outcomes (critical
quality attributes, or CQA).
This interdisciplinary team comprises engineers, biologists, clinicians, manufacturing, and data
analytics experts from multiple MIT academic units, and multiple Singapore-based universities,
research centres of excellence, and hospitals who are experienced at translational demonstrations
of technologies in safety-regulated industries such as cell therapies. As with all postdoctoral
associates (PDAs) in SMART CAMP based in Singapore, the PDA will work in a diverse team of
experts including several principal investigators (PIs) and PDAs, and receive direct mentorship
regarding career development from a pair of who are based in Singapore and at MIT, respectively.
CAMP’s unique, enabling and cross-cutting capabilities include cell and clinical biology,
microfluidics, real-time optics and spectroscopies, 3D-printed devices, process analytics, data
analytics, and bioinformatics. This programme will demonstrate these approaches required of cellbased
personalized medicine through three translational testbeds (three Flagship Projects),
ultimately facilitating access for more patients to life-saving, approved cell therapies for currently
intractable health challenges. These flagship projects will address allogeneic and autologous cell
therapy products, including but not limited to cell sources including adult stem/progenitor cells and
immune cells for treatment of specific cancers, tissue degeneration, and autoimmune diseases.
Flagship Project 1: Label-free critical quality attributes (CQA) for personalized efficacy of cell
therapies, including multivariate analysis of biological and biophysical attributes
Flagship Project 2: Rapid critical quality attributes (CQA) for safety of cell sources & cell therapy
products, including process analytic technologies (PAT)
Flagship Project 3: Integrated process analytic technologies (PAT) for cell proliferation and
recovery, including in-line and intermittent monitoring to promote efficacy and safety CQA
Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
HR / June 2019
Job Description and Responsibilities
CAMP Flagship Project 3 – Computational imaging and instrumentation for monitoring of cell
morphology and adherent cell proliferation
Process analytic technologies (PAT) for cell therapy manufacturing must be accessible to or
integrated with the culture vessels in which the cells are expanded to sufficient cell number and
quality. When the critical quality attribute (CQA) of cells can be correlated with cell morphology
and proliferation rate or extent, optics are among the key technology enablers for rapid monitoring
and process analytics. This PDA will contribute to development of imaging modalities that can be
integrated into cell culture platforms ranging from instrumented T-flasks to microfluidic
bioreactors. Optical design and instrumentation to characterize the morphology of individual cells
and cell aggregates will be utilized along with computational tools for image synthesis and analysis
in these microenvironments. CAMP will pilot this technology for real-time monitoring and control
of mesenchymal stromal cell culture in a cell therapy manufacturing setting.
• Development of optical instrumentation utilizing computational imaging for monitoring the
morphology of individual cells and cell aggregates
• Improving data analytics for this optical cell characterization modality
• Investigate the underlying biophysics to establish a deeper understanding for cellular
morphology and how that may correlate with important biological properties for stem and
therapeutic cells. This study may be performed with other biologists in the CAMP team due to
its interdisciplinary nature.
Job Requirements
• A Ph.D. degree in biological/biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical
engineering or other relevant fields is required. An interdisciplinary research background in
optics, biophysics, cell biology, and data analytics is an asset.
• Strong hands-on ability to carry out experimental engineering / instrumentation
• Proven track record in the field of imaging / optical engineering
• Creativity to solve challenging technical problem with biological and technical uncertainty
• Good communication skills to work with researchers from biological / clinical backgrounds
• Self-motivated, independent, with superior organizational and analytical skills
• Able and committed to work in Singapore
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
online