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Gender Critical Research Network – A message from the Vice-Chancellor

Our University is not only a place of open debate but should be an exemplar of how to have these debates, bringing the standards of inquiry we have as an academic institution not just into our own conversations but taking them out into wider society.

This, however, needs to be governed by clear rules that define our rights and reciprocal obligations to each other, and are acted on. These obligations are not just about following rules but about the care and regard we have for one another.

The OU is being tested about this at the current time given the strength of views and level of distress on all sides connected with a new academic initiative, the Gender Critical Research Network. The establishment of this network, based on critical scholarship about sex and gender, has caused hurt and a feeling of being abandoned among our trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming staff and students. It has also distressed many others in the wider OU community. This, and the well-being of all colleagues, greatly concerns me.

In responding to and discussing these developments and issues, we need to recognise the legal duties placed on the University that we must all respect, duties with regard to free speech set out in the Education Act 1986, the Education Reform Act 1988, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and the Charities Act 2011. We all have a duty to uphold freedom of expression and academic freedom.

The OU has a very good Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom , agreed by Senate and Council, which is a reference point we should follow. No doubt it can be improved, and we have governance channels for considering such suggestions. We can learn all the time.

In the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive meeting, on Thursday 24th June, we discussed the current situation, with a full and frank exchange of views informed by the many representations we have had. We agreed that the formation of the network is compatible with our duty to uphold academic freedom, but we need to do more than this to safeguard the wellbeing of our community. We will take forward the following actions.

• In the light of recent reports and legal cases, the Group People Director, will lead a review of all relevant policies to ensure they are fit-for-purpose. Some actions within the terms of our current policies are necessary to ensure we stay compliant with our legal responsibilities, and those will be led by the University Secretary. To help us navigate this path fairly and responsibly, we will be supported by expert and independent legal counsel. We will also review how adequately our staff training and professional development address these issues.
• The Group People Director, with colleagues in Academic Services, will also be ensuring that all our staff and students have access to support for their wellbeing when encountering experiences that they find distressing or hurtful; experiences that we all have an obligation to avoid causing even if some views will cause offence. A key principle of the Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom is that some standpoints may cause upset, but these must be presented in ways that are not hostile or degrading.
• The Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Enterprise and Scholarship, and the Dean of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, will consult on an initiative that aims to bring all parties at the OU together into a common conversation that seeks to find agreement, or agreement to disagree, on a civil and respectful basis.
• The Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Enterprise and Scholarship will also be reviewing how the University oversees the establishment of academic networks and centres, and whether there are lessons to be learned from recent events and from good practice across the sector.

We are striving to be a diverse and inclusive community within which everyone feels safe and valued. We will not always agree, and it will sometimes be a considerable challenge to find an acceptable balance between the tolerable and intolerable, but that is what we must all try to achieve.

Tim Blackman

Vice-Chancellor

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Inside the new gender critical research network

Olivia Hartley and Dr Jon Pike talk about setting up the UK’s new network for gender-critical academics and the inclusion of transwomen in women’s sport

I n this episode, The Critic ‘s publisher, Olivia Hartley, speaks to Dr Jon Pike, co-convener of the newly established Open University Gender Critical Research Network and a philosopher of sport and ethics, about setting up the UK’s new network for gender-critical academics and the inclusion of transwomen in women’s sport.

Jon tells Olivia that, far from being a gender-critical activist group, the network “isn’t a political campaign; it’s a research network with a focus on sexed bodies”.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on  Spotify  and  iTunes  to ensure you never you never miss an episode.

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Professor wins gender-critical belief case

A professor who was likened to ‘a racist uncle at the Christmas dinner table’ and accused of being transphobic because of her gender-critical beliefs has succeeded in her claim for harassment, discrimination and constructive dismissal against the Open University.

Professor Jo Phoenix, a lesbian who set up the Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN) at the OU, claimed she felt forced to leave her job as a professor of criminology because the organisation failed to support and protect her from belief-related discrimination and harassment.

Phoenix believes that biological sex is immutable, real and important, and that sex cannot be conflated with gender identity.

In 2018, the Guardian published a letter signed by the claimant and 53 other academics that expressed concern about self-identification for gender reassignment. This was the first time Phoenix’s colleagues became aware of her gender-critical beliefs.

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She had been due to speak at a conference in 2019, but it was cancelled as there were concerns that “the event had been hijacked into being about one kind of controversy, transgender issues, prison reform…”.

It was the claimant’s view that the conference should not have been cancelled for this reason, and claimed it had been a breach of academic freedom. She resigned from a research panel, the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative (HERC), in response.

In 2019 she gave a talk at a Woman’s Place UK event on the topic of trans rights, sex-based rights and the curtailing of academic freedom, in which she mentioned the cancellation of the conference. She also signed a letter in the Sunday Times that raised concern over the relationship between the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and UK universities, and spoke of her gender-critical views on the Savage Minds podcast.

‘Racist uncle’ comment

Professor Louise Westmarland, head of discipline in social policy and criminology at the OU, invited the claimant to a meeting and said she had been asked by members of HERC to speak to her about the Woman’s Place UK talk and divisiveness in the department. The tribunal found that the divisiveness referred to by Westmarland had been because of the claimant’s gender-critical beliefs.

Phoenix alleged that Prof Westmarland said that “having [her] in the department was like having a racist uncle at the Christmas dinner table.” The claimant left the meeting feeling extremely upset.

The employment tribunal said that Westmarland was “effectively telling the claimant off for expressing her gender-critical beliefs”.

In June 2021, the claimant launched the Gender Critical Research Network, a research group focused on the importance of sexed bodies in different academic disciplines.

An open letter protesting against the launch of the GCRN was signed by 368 OU staff and postgraduate researchers. It called on the OU vice chancellor to withdraw support for the GCRN, affirm its position as a trans-inclusive employer and commit to supporting staff and students in a “trans-hostile external and internal environment”.

It said that “gender-critical feminism is a strand of thought and a belief that is fundamentally hostile to the rights of trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people”, and was critical of the GCRN’s link to the Savage Minds podcast episode the claimant appeared on.

Although the letter was addressed to the vice-chancellor, it was saved as a publicly accessible Google Doc. Some of the signatories included the claimant’s colleagues, who also tweeted and retweeted the letter to encourage more academics to sign it. Phoenix told the tribunal that it was “deeply humiliating, both personally and professionally, to be condemned by colleagues in this public way”.

Lack of action from the OU

Phoenix claimed the OU did not take action to get the letter taken down, which the tribunal said “had a chilling effect on the claimant expressing her gender critical beliefs and carrying out gender critical research”.

In 2021, the Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies Faculty and the Reproduction, Sexualities and Sexual Health research group issued a statement that expressed dismay at the launch of the GCRN. The tribunal found this statement implied that the GCRN put human lives at risk.

In December 2019, the claimant was due to give a talk on the topic of trans rights, imprisonment and the criminal justice system at the University of Essex, but the talk was cancelled because students threatened to barricade the room in protest. She told her colleagues about the cancellation but was met with “cavernous” silence in response. The tribunal found that several of the meeting’s attendees were supportive and sympathetic to gender identity views, rather than the gender-critical beliefs held by the claimant.

The tribunal found that Phoenix’s resignation from the OU in 2021 amounted to constructive dismissal as the OU had breached the implied term of trust and confidence when colleagues had contributed to, signed and published the open letter and published “harassing” tweets.

The judgment

Judge Jennifer Young said in her judgment: “The publication of the open letter encouraged a ‘pile on’ to the claimant in particular as she was on the Savage Minds podcast, creating an atmosphere that made it more difficult for the claimant to carry out research from a gender-critical perspective within a network of other like colleagues [sic]”.

She said that the “WELS/RSSH statement contained untruths that were detrimental to the claimant’s professional reputation… likely to seriously damage the trust and confidence between the claimant and the respondent”.

“We do not consider that the respondent had a proper reason for allowing the harassment to continue,” the judgment in Phoenix v The Open University says.

We do not consider that the respondent had a proper reason for allowing the harassment to continue” – Judge Jennifer Young

An investigation into a grievance the claimant raised was suspended when she resigned. The tribunal found this was an act of post-employment victimisation.

Her complaints of direct discrimination and harassment because of her gender-critical beliefs, constructive unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal all succeeded, while a claim for post-employment discrimination was dismissed.

A remedy will be decided at a further hearing.

Prof Jo Phoenix said: “I am delighted that the tribunal found in my favour. It was an exceptionally painful part of my career but I am glad for the win.

“Universities must act to protect their gender-critical staff. As the tribunal agreed, accusations of transphobia just because someone holds gender-critical views, organising and publishing open letters with the intent of creating a hostile environment, are unlawful forms of harassment. Academics and universities must now, surely, recognise their responsibilities towards promoting diversity of viewpoints and tolerance of alternative views.”

Professor Tim Blackman, vice-chancellor of The Open University, said: “We acknowledge that we can learn from this judgment and are considering the findings very carefully. We are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of everyone involved in the case and acknowledge the significant impact it has had on Prof Phoenix, the witnesses and many other colleagues.

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“Our priority has been to protect freedom of speech while respecting legal rights and protections. We are disappointed by the judgment and will need time to consider it in detail, including our right to appeal.”

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Open University defends research network after transphobia claims

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OU stands by gender-critical network in latest academic row over free speech and equalities

The Open University has cited its responsibility to protect academic freedom in a staunch defence of its decision to host a research network for gender-critical academics, after intense criticism from some students and staff.

The Open University’s Gender Critical Research Network launched in June, with its founders saying it would “critique the constraining stereotypes of gender”.

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On being a professional academic in an anti-intellectual age

On launching the open university gender critical research network:, a tale about the attempt to restrict freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities today..

It has been a few months now since me and Jon Pike launched the Gender Critical Research Network at The Open University. Immediately after, there was a concerted and targeted campaign, launched by staff and students of the OU, to get the network shut down. Right now, there is an open public letter on google docs organised by OU academic staff and with over 360 OU staff or Postgraduate signatories accusing the Gender Critical Research Network (and by extension its members) of being transphobic. It does this by highlighting a podcast uploaded to the OUGCRN website – an interview *I* did with Julian Vigo as part of her Savage Minds podcasts – and providing an *erroneous* precise of that interview. Julian interviewed me about University of Essex’s public apology and the Reindorf Review and the events that led to my blacklisting. The google docs letter contains time stamps pointing to: where I critique Stonewall strategy and approach (claiming that this is transphobic); where the interviewer refers to ‘men in dresses’ (which was in fact referring to drag queens in the 1980s and 1990s and not, as suggested derogatorily referring to transwomen); and where the interviewer refers to the approach by Stonewall to lesbian and gay men that we are same GENDER rather than same SEX attracted using trans rights activists’ own phrase ‘sucking female cocks’ (claiming that this too is in some deeply ironic twist, transphobic).

There are also two open statements sitting on OU servers making similar claims (that the network and its members are anti-trans and contribute to a climate of transphobia). My own local branch of UCU (via the EDI postholders) circulated an email to all OU union staff promoting the open google docs letters alluded to above.

Across the open letter, the two open statements and the UCU email, there are calls for the university to disaffiliate the Gender Critical Research Network or this, that or the other section of the University wishes to distance themselves from the Gender Critical Research Network – all the basis of crude, crass and pejorative stereotypes about my (and others) gender critical beliefs (and THEORETICAL perspectives).

Even though the open letter, the two statements and the union email were published in the days after launching the network, the campaign targeted at me and the network is ongoing because it remains in the public domain and on the university servers. I experience their deleterious effect every day.

To date, the open google docs letter, as well as the two open statements and the UCU email have not been taken down.

Why am I dredging this up now? Because after several months of thinking through these matters, I have come to realise that I started censoring myself on twitter and in the public and in that regard the campaign is having an ongoing effect on me.

The open letter and open statements have been organised and written by friends and colleagues I have worked with. I suspect many people who signed the statement/letter did not realise what they were signing.

As many of you know, I have been ‘off sick’ for a few months now because of the effect this campaign against me has had. I write this not to claim some type of victimhood but simply to recount some facts.

The tone and tenor of the campaign against me and the network has made me doubt and question what I ought to talk about in open. And in the face of that doubt, I have remained silent.

But after a long hard summer, I have decided that I will no longer be quiet about what happened and its effect and why I fear for professionalism and academic freedom. I will talk about the (on-going) reaction to the establishment of The Open University Gender Critical Network. I will talk about the fact that I have chosen to resign and quit my own LGBTQi staff support network yammer page because of the pernicious and pejorative stereotypes of GC academics that are being spread on that OU platform.

I will talk about the fact that just because people are not actively tweeting about it *right now*, doesn’t mean that I am not being currently harassed or that the problem has gone away.

Many weeks ago, I talked to an exceptionally brave trans colleague at work who put their head above the parapet to find common ground with me. I thank that person and hope they see this tweet knowing that the conversation was very helpful and that I tried to act on the suggestions made. But, in that conversation it was suggested to me that the more I talk about the lies and negative stereotypes of GC people peddled in campaign against me and the other members of OUGCRN and the more I talk about the campaign calls for discrimination against me based on those lies, the less able it will be for things to 'settle down' at work.

I get it. No one likes ill will at work. However, I then realised that by not talking about it I was, in effect, telling myself not to rock the boat. To let it settle. To be quiet.

Today, I realised I’m not that sort of academic or woman. I have known violence from men. I have been told to be quiet before. I have been told I don't play nicely with others.

Funny how silencing works. First, they accuse you of hideous, shameful things. Then you silence yourself. Then you lose your voice.

Ready for more?

Gender Critical academics, discrimination and trade unions

Published 30th July 2021 • Blog   

Tags: academic freedom , trade unions , unions

Professor Jo Phoenix, Chair in Criminology at The Open University has been a jobbing academic for nearly 24 years. She researches violence against women, prostitution, child sexual exploitation, sex, gender and justice and youth justice. She also writes on ethics, politics and professionalism in academia.

Professor Jo Phoenix

Where are trade unions when gender critical academics are under attack? Instead of supporting members, the unions form part of the problem. Just weeks after University of Essex Vice-Chancellor apologised to me and Rosa Freedman for its unlawful behaviour (the University and Colleges Union being notably quiet about that event), the UCU’s Open University branch joined the clamour of calls asking for the University to discriminate against the members of the newly formed Open University Gender Critical Network.

Historically, unions have been at the forefront of social change for women – from the Matchwomen’s Strike of 1888 to the striking women at the Ford plant in Dagenham who paved the way for the Equal Pay Act 1970. Yet, sadly, in 2021 and in the context of universities, this progress recently seems to have stalled if not gone into reverse.

Unions in academia

Today, in academia workplace bullying and harassment of individuals who hold gender critical views is real. Oxford University has had to provide Professor Selina Todd with personal security following threats of violence. Professor Rosa Freedman has faced threats made against her by staff and students. In my own case, staff and students, through threats of protest and threatening posters, bullied and harassed their own university to a point that my human rights were infringed .

The UCU represents academics. It recognises that academic freedom is not a fanciful idea. It cuts to the heart of our working conditions and the UCU statement on academic freedom is very clear on the matter – tying academic freedom (freedom in teaching and discussion, in carrying out research without commercial or political interference; to disseminate and publish one’s research findings; from institutional censorship and to particular in professional and representative academic bodies, including trade unions) to the very practice and health of a functioning democracy. Without academic freedom, that which we are paid to do (produce knowledge and teach) cannot be done.

But, its statement (‘ reaffirming UCUs commitment trans inclusion ’) reduces the conflicts on university campuses to an overly drawn simple question of the union supporting self-identification (of any minoritized category including being black, disabled, LGBT+ or women) and supporting women’s rights against sexual harassment, domestic violence, unequal pay and maternity pay and leave. It seems to have missed protecting (mostly women) researchers against being harassed and bullied for espousing a gender critical perspective.

In an ideal world, a trade union representing academics might see threats and intimidation from staff and students as the creation of a hostile working environment. It might frame the allegations that that gender critical researchers are transphobic as vexatious (especially as we now know that Stonewall provided my university with erroneous advice which overreached the law). But at the elected national and branch level, the UCU response has been to legitimise discrimination against academics researching or fighting for sex-based rights.

The Open University Gender Critical Network

Take what happened at The Open University in the week commencing 14 th June. Colleagues and I launched The Open University Gender Critical Network . It was a low-key launch. We made a Twitter announcement and linked it to an online podcast. Within hours, we were simultaneously applauded for our initiative and reviled for supposedly being ‘anti-trans’. We were careful to define gender critical research as exploring how, why, and where sexed bodies matter. This means starting from the point of view that ‘sex’ has a material reality and is an important category in research.

As the week unfurled, there were a series of open letters circulating calling on the university to withdraw its public support from us and not endorse our research.  These letters were circulating within The Open University and shared widely on social media. They were coming from OU staff and students as well as from outside institutions (such as the Gender Studies department at LSE) and academic journals (such as the Journal of Gender, Work and Organisation). In the end, they even came from our own union branch.

Leaving aside the defamatory and untrue accusations in the open letters, the UCU email started by noting the “distress caused by the launch and apparent endorsement by the university of the gender critical research network” before providing links to UCU’s statement on trans inclusion , a link to our webpage (with a content warning), a link to the open letter circulated by students that contained the link to the open letters circulated by staff and a link to the (now taken down defamatory) open statement posted to the LSE Gender Studies Departmental website. The email was signed by the branch Equality Officer and Equality Lead. The intention was clear. The email was asking union members to discriminate against the members of our research network.

Let’s unpack this

Asking the university to withdraw its supposed ‘endorsement’, ‘public support’ or to disaffiliate from us can only mean to have us fired or immiserate our working conditions. At the risk of over-simplifying things, as academics we are paid knowledge workers who are contractually obliged to create and disseminate research and to engage with our stakeholders and other research users to maximize the impact of our knowledge. We are credentialed paid professionals who have undertaken the requisite training to equip us to do our job and, for the most part, we belong to unions which should protect our working conditions and protect us from discrimination. Research networks are the standard tool by which we grow research capacity and exchange knowledge.

Universities do not ‘endorse’ research. They do support it by paying our salaries and, if the research is in alignment with the university’s strategic aim, they may fund it. To ask for the OU to end its endorsement means to stop paying our salaries or to treat us differently (i.e., to discriminate against us) based on us being ‘gender critical’. As the Forstater ruling made clear this is unlawful discrimination.

Writing personally and not on behalf of the network, my local trade union (of which I have been a member since August 1997) is asking my university managers to discriminate against me and a group of researchers I work with, with the express purpose of either shutting us down or making our working conditions worse.

Further reading

Time for a left wing defence of academic freedom by Shereen Benjamin (2021)

Report from debate on academic freedom from UCU Congress 2019

University Challenge WPUK comment on the publication of guidance on freedom of expression in Higher Education (2019)

Trade Unions WPUK guide to becoming actively involved in the trade union movement (2019)

We believe that it is important to share a range of viewpoints on women’s rights and advancement from different perspectives. WPUK does not necessarily agree or endorse all the views that we share.

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Open University failed to protect gender-critical scholar – judge

Tribunal rules criminologist jo phoenix was forced out of institution, which was ‘fearful’ about being seen to support gender-critical beliefs.

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The UK’s Open University failed to protect one of its professors from harassment because it was “fearful” that it would be seen as expressing support for her gender-critical beliefs, a judge has ruled.

An employment tribunal found that Jo Phoenix, a professor of criminology, was forced to quit because of a “hostile environment” created by colleagues opposed to her views and the failure of the university to protect her.

“The [OU] failed to protect the [Professor Phoenix] because [it] did not want to be seen to give any kind of support to academics with gender-critical beliefs,” a 155-page ruling concludes.

Speaking after the ruling was published, Professor Phoenix said that universities must now “act to protect their gender-critical staff”.

“As the tribunal agreed, accusations of transphobia, just because someone holds gender-critical views, organising and publishing open letters with the intent of creating a hostile environment, are unlawful forms of harassment,” said Professor Phoenix, who now works at the University of Reading .

“Academics and universities must now, surely, recognise their responsibilities towards promoting diversity of viewpoints and tolerance of alternative views.”

Professor Phoenix joined the OU in 2013 and hoped to see out her career there but the tribunal ruling says she started to face opposition from colleagues after signing a 2018 letter to The Guardian raising concerns about the introduction of self-identification for gender reassignment and another letter the following year to The Sunday Times which expressed disquiet about the relationship between LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and UK universities.

In one meeting with Professor Phoenix, Louise Westmarland, then deputy head of the department of social policy and criminology at the OU, told her that “having you in the department was like having a racist uncle at the Christmas dinner table”, the tribunal ruled.

Deborah Drake, who was then head of department, was found to have told Professor Phoenix not to speak to the department about her research or the allegations of transphobia which she was battling – and, in a phone call with Professor Phoenix, to have likened her to Charles Murray, a sociologist who has argued that racial inequality is partly attributable to biological differences between races.

The situation worsened significantly in June 2021 when Professor Phoenix launched with colleagues an OU Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN). An open letter calling on the OU to withdraw any affiliation with the network and to take action against a “trans-hostile” environment was signed by 368 staff members and postgraduate researchers, as part of what the tribunal found was a “targeted campaign” and a “pile-on”.

Professor Phoenix started to receive death threats and asked the OU to take action to stop the campaign against her.

But vice-chancellor Tim Blackman issued a statement which, while it talked of “distress on all sides”, only referred specifically to “hurt and a feeling of being abandoned among our trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming staff”, and did not mention the distress felt by Professor Phoenix. The tribunal ruled that nothing in the statement “looked like the action that [Professor Phoenix] had requested” to stop the attacks on her.

“We find that the [OU] was fearful of outwardly being seen in any way to support the members of the GCRN including the claimant in case it was seen as support for gender-critical beliefs,” the ruling says, adding that the university “felt pressured by the loud voices speaking up for gender identity culture within the OU”.

Professor Phoenix, who described feeling ostracised and suffering from worsening mental health as a result of her treatment, resigned in December 2021 after being offered the job at Reading.

The tribunal found that Professor Phoenix was a victim of discrimination, harassment, constructive unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal.

Speaking after the judgment was published, Professor Blackman said that the OU was “disappointed by the judgment and will need time to consider it in detail, including our right to appeal”.

“We acknowledge that we can learn from this judgment and are considering the findings very carefully,” he said.

“We are deeply concerned about the well-being of everyone involved in the case and acknowledge the significant impact it has had on Professor Phoenix, the witnesses and many other colleagues.

“Our priority has been to protect freedom of speech while respecting legal rights and protections.”

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Working together, we can reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives.

Principal Scientist with PhenoCycler Fusion experience (PhD)

About the role.

Internal Job Title: Principal Scientist I/II

Position Location: Cambridge, MA, onsite

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated individual passionate about cutting-edge technology to explore single cell multiplex spatial proteomics. This role involves working with the latest generation PhenoCycler Fusion instrument and collaborating with translational immunologists, cancer biologists, and other researchers to advance our understanding of cellular processes in complex tissues and their application to drug development. This role offers exciting opportunities for career development, enhancing leadership skills and influencing collaborative efforts within various disease areas.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operate, maintain, and utilize the PhenoCycler Fusion (formerly CODEX).
• Build and optimize antibody panels.
• Conjugate and perform quality control of reagents.
• Consult with users on potential projects, including sample accessibility and experimental design.
• Optimize procedures, design panels, and provide data analysis consultation.
• Conduct multiplex imaging experiments.
• Perform basic data quality evaluation.
• Analyze data using licensed software.
• Maintain records of procedures and resultant data, both manually and on the computer.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Serve as a leader in spatial proteomic single cell biology and translational research applications, focusing on new targets, biomarkers/patient population selection, and treatment strategies.
• Focus efforts in priority application areas in Biomedical Research (BR) at Novartis to deliver impactful results through matrix collaboration with DA teams.
• Building on success from initial focused efforts, develop broader application strategies at BR in translational and reverse translation research, with support from leaders in Discovery Science, Disease Areas and Biomedical Research.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills for close collaboration with team members.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, diverse environment.
• Good judgment, technical problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Flexibility and adaptability as technology evolves.
• Prior experience in imaging techniques and applications in biological research.
• General lab skills and knowledge of lab safety and infection control.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in immunology, biological sciences, biochemistry, or a related field, and 2+ years of related postgraduate work experience
• Other technical and academic degrees will be considered with relevant research experience.
• 3+ years of demonstrated skill and experience using CODEX/PhenoCycler.
• Possess deep knowledge and expertise in immunology, biology, and multi-omics applications in translational research across various disease areas such as oncology (ONC), immuno-oncology (IO), immunity-driven diseases, and related treatment strategies.
• Understanding sample preparation, instrument optimization, and data analysis.
• Interest in bioinformatics and experience with software.
• Ability to identify and troubleshoot critical issues.
• Detail-orientated

Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion / EEO: The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $112,800 to $186,000/year; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/24 through 12/31/24, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Join our Novartis Network: Not the right Novartis role for you? Sign up to our talent community to stay connected and learn about suitable career opportunities as soon as they come up: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network

Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

EEO Statement:

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers who are focused on building and advancing a culture of inclusion that values and celebrates individual differences, uniqueness, backgrounds and perspectives. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the world around us and connects us to the patients, customers and communities we serve.

Accessibility & Reasonable Accommodations

The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +1(877)395-2339 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.