Research Scientist Resume Example (2026 Guide)
Research Scientist resume example
A complete sample in the Modern template FitMyRole exports. The person and employers are fictional; the structure, skills and bullet style are what to copy.
Hana Ishikawa
[email protected] • (555) 014-6620 • Boston, MA • linkedin.com/in/hanaishikawa
Professional Summary
Research Scientist with 11 years of experience in protein engineering and antibody discovery, spanning postdoctoral research and industry R&D at two Boston-area biotechs. Leads a lab team of four building bispecific T-cell engager candidates, from library design and high-throughput screening through developability and handoff to process development. Has advanced two molecules into IND-enabling studies, co-invented three filed patent families and published 18 peer-reviewed papers, nine as first or corresponding author. Designs experiments with the statistics planned up front, and works closely with computational, analytical and in vivo pharmacology teams.
Technical Skills
- Protein Engineering: Antibody engineering, bispecific formats, phage display, yeast display, affinity maturation, site-directed mutagenesis, library design
- Assays & Screening: ELISA, flow cytometry, surface plasmon resonance (Biacore), bio-layer interferometry (Octet), T-cell activation and cytotoxicity assays, high-throughput screening
- Protein Production & Analytics: Mammalian expression (HEK293, CHO), Protein A and size-exclusion chromatography, AKTA, SEC-MALS, differential scanning fluorimetry, developability profiling
- Molecular & Cell Biology: Molecular cloning, Gibson assembly, NGS library preparation, CRISPR knockout, cell line engineering, primary T-cell culture
- Data Analysis: Python (pandas, scikit-learn), R, GraphPad Prism, JMP, design of experiments (DOE), statistical analysis
- Lab Operations: Benchling ELN, Hamilton and Tecan liquid handlers, assay automation, SOP writing, BSL-2 practice
- Research Leadership: Team leadership, project planning, cross-functional collaboration, grant writing, patent drafting support, scientific presentations, mentoring
Education
- Dissertation: structural determinants of antibody affinity and specificity, using yeast display and deep mutational scanning.
- Graduated with highest honors; undergraduate research in protein folding.
Work Experience
Senior Research Scientist, Protein EngineeringJanuary 2022 – PresentCharlesgate Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA
- Advanced two bispecific T-cell engager candidates into IND-enabling studies by leading discovery from yeast display libraries through affinity tuning, developability screening and lead selection.
- Lead a team of four research associates and scientists, setting quarterly experimental plans and reviewing data weekly against milestones agreed with the project team.
- Raised the hit rate of affinity maturation campaigns from about 5% to 18% by pairing NGS of sorted yeast libraries with a machine learning model built with the computational group.
- Cut lead candidate turnaround from 14 to 8 weeks by automating transient expression and Protein A purification on a Hamilton liquid handler, scaling to 384 variants per cycle.
- Built a developability panel (SEC, DSF, polyreactivity and SPR kinetics) that removes aggregation-prone molecules before scale-up, now required at every program stage gate.
- Co-invented three filed patent families covering bispecific formats and CD3 binding domains, drafting the experimental sections with patent counsel.
- Present program data to the executive team and scientific advisory board each quarter, and co-authored two papers and four conference posters from the program.
Research ScientistSeptember 2018 – December 2021Mystic River Biosciences, Waltham, MA
- Discovered three lead antibodies against a solid-tumor target through phage display campaigns on a 10-billion-member synthetic library, one of which entered preclinical development.
- Developed a primary human T-cell cytotoxicity assay with a coefficient of variation under 15%, replacing an outsourced assay and saving about $220K a year.
- Co-wrote a $1.9M NIH SBIR Phase II grant awarded in 2020, writing the specific aims and preliminary data for the antibody engineering work.
- Raised CHO transient expression titers from 80 to 210 mg/L by running design of experiments studies in JMP on media, feed and transfection conditions.
- Trained and supervised two research associates on SPR, flow cytometry and protein purification workflows, both later promoted.
Postdoctoral Research FellowAugust 2015 – August 2018Bayview Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA
- Won an NIH F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein postdoctoral fellowship to study how T-cell receptor binding affinity controls immune synapse formation.
- Engineered a panel of 40 T-cell receptor variants spanning a 1,000-fold affinity range using yeast display and site-directed mutagenesis, the core resource for three papers.
- Published five first-author papers from the project and presented at four national meetings, including an invited talk at the American Association of Immunologists annual meeting.
- Mentored three graduate students and two undergraduates in the lab, two of whom co-authored papers from their projects.
Publications, Patents & Grants
- 18 peer-reviewed publications, 9 as first or corresponding author, with 640+ citations.
- Three filed patent families on bispecific antibody formats and CD3 binding domains (2023, 2024 and 2025).
- NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship (2016 to 2018); co-investigator on a $1.9M NIH SBIR Phase II grant (2020).
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Tailor my resumeWhy This Resume Works
- The summary counts the research record a hiring committee looks for (two molecules in IND-enabling studies, three patent families, 18 papers with nine as first or corresponding author) before describing methods.
- Bullets lead with what the science achieved and then name the technique, as in "Raised the hit rate of affinity maturation campaigns from about 5% to 18% by pairing NGS of sorted yeast libraries with a machine learning model".
- Grants are named with their size and the candidate’s role, the NIH F32 fellowship and a $1.9M SBIR Phase II where the candidate wrote the specific aims, which shows the ability to fund research.
- A separate Publications, Patents & Grants section keeps the full output visible without crowding the experience bullets, so both an industry recruiter and a scientific reviewer find what they need.
- Collaboration is specific rather than claimed: a model built with the computational group, quarterly reviews with the scientific advisory board, and handoff to process development.
Common Resume Mistakes
- Listing only techniques without outcomes or publications.
- No publication, patent, or grant metrics.
- Missing methodology or tool keywords.
Keywords Recruiters Look For
- Research
- Publications
- Grants
- Experimental
- Analysis
- R&D
- Collaboration
- Lab
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