About Portara

Portara Bioscience is a growing life sciences company focused on advancing an innovative new class of therapeutics. We are passionate about solving the toughest problems in medicine, with an initial focus is on cancer and inflammatory disease, and ultimately broadening the approach to apply to other therapeutic areas.

Portara was founded in 2025 by scientists and drug developers with deep experience in biotechnology company building, new therapeutic modalities, and clinical trials. The company is backed by leading Australian life science investors and works with a network of experienced advisors and research partners from around the world.

Our discovery platform brings together medicinal chemistry, structural biology, computational design and cell-based biology. We use these tools together to find and optimise compounds with the selectivity and drug-like properties needed to move into the clinic.

The company fosters a collaborative environment where researchers, scientists, and technical specialists work closely together to translate discoveries into practical applications. Team members are encouraged to explore new ideas, use cutting-edge laboratory technologies to contribute to projects that have real-world impact. Portara Bioscience values integrity, scientific rigor, and continuous learning, offering opportunities for professional development and cross-functional collaboration.

We are now building our founding scientific team and setting up our first laboratory in the Jumar Bioincubator in the heart of Melbourne’s biomedical precinct. Joining Portara at this stage means helping to shape the science, the culture and the direction of the company from the ground up. We are looking for people who are curious, rigorous and comfortable working in a small team where everyone’s contribution matters.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced research scientist who enjoys practical laboratory science and takes pride in producing reliable, reproducible results. You will establish and run the cell-based experiments that measure how our compounds affect target proteins and cell behaviour, working closely with broader scientific team. You’ll be confident troubleshooting assays and working through problems as they arise, with the experience to recognise when a result doesn’t look right and the initiative to find out why.

This role provides an opportunity for a motivated researcher to leverage their existing skills and experience while expanding their career in the field of novel therapeutics. You will take responsibility for the quality and day-to-day delivery of your experiments while deepening your expertise in drug discovery and translational research. Program priorities will be agreed with the CMO and CSO, with day-to-day autonomy in how experiments are planned and run.

There is no expectation to establish an independent research group, obtain grants or move into people management.

Key responsibilities

Cell culture and compound testing

- Maintain adherent and suspension cell lines, including thawing, expansion, cryopreservation, cell banking, mycoplasma testing and coordination of authentication.
- Run compound concentration-response and time-course studies using CellTiter-Glo (CTG) or equivalent viability assays, direct cell counts and proliferation readouts, with appropriate controls and repeat experiments.

Target and phenotypic readouts

- Measure target protein and downstream responses using quantitative Western blotting, RNA extraction, reverse transcription,



PCR and RT-qPCR.
- Measure apoptosis using Annexin V with PI or 7-AAD by flow cytometry. Perform cell-cycle and phenotypic or differentiation assays, including sample preparation, acquisition and analysis.

Data quality, records and collaboration.

- Optimise and troubleshoot assays with the scientific team, document methods and assess whether results meet agreed quality criteria.
- Contribute to day-to-day laboratory operations, including reagent stocks, ordering, equipment care and coordination with shared laboratory facilities.
- Analyse and present results clearly; maintain complete experimental records, raw data, compound and sample traceability, and essential laboratory stocks.
- Prepare and qualify assay reagents, including antibody titration and checks on assay performance and consistency.
- Keep records suitable for scientific and intellectual-property purposes, protect Portara’s confidential information, and support laboratory safety and responsible research practices.
- Writing and updating standard operating procedures, contributing to risk assessments, and maintaining electronic laboratory records.

Qualifications and experience

Essential

- A relevant degree in biomedical science, cell biology, molecular biology or a related discipline, or equivalent laboratory experience. A PhD is welcome but is not required.
- Substantial experience in a research laboratory, typically five or more years or equivalent depth of practical expertise, with demonstrated ability to deliver experiments independently.
- Strong mammalian cell culture skills, ideally spanning both adherent and suspension models, and careful attention to cell health and culture quality.
- Experience running and analysing plate-based viability studies (e.g. CTG) and apoptosis assays (e.g. Annexin V/PI), alongside practical competence in Western blotting, PCR/RT-qPCR and flow cytometry.

- Ability to choose appropriate controls, recognise unreliable data, troubleshoot assays and distinguish reduced growth from cell death or changes in metabolic activity.
- Experience analysing concentration-response data and presenting results using tools such as GraphPad Prism and FlowJo, or equivalent software.
- Reliable organisation, clear communication and a collaborative approach, including planning experiments and handovers within agreed part-time hours.

Desirable

- Cancer research, particularly leukaemia, myeloma, prostate cancer or breast cancer models.

Experience with every disease area or individual cell line is not expected.

- Caspase activity assays, cleaved PARP/caspase immunoblotting, live-cell imaging or longer-term growth assays; compound combinations and luminescent reporters such as HiBiT.
- Transfection, electroporation or gene knockdown for target validation. Basic cloning may occasionally be useful but is not a routine requirement.
- Experience handling primary human cells, including blood-derived populations.
- An interest in drug discovery and the translation of laboratory findings into new medicines.

Personal attributes.

- Takes pride in careful,



reproducible work and holds a high standard for data quality.
- Comfortable working in an environment where priorities evolve as data emerge.
- Hands-on and willing to solve practical problems rather than waiting for established systems.
- Highly collaborative and respectful of expertise from other disciplines.
- Open about uncertainty and willing to say when an experiment should be repeated.
- Motivated by Portara’s ambition to create medicines that could meaningfully improve patients’ lives.

Why this role matters

Cellular data determine which compounds progress. Establishing whether a compound affects the intended protein, and whether that precedes and explains the change in cell behavior, is the measurement Portara’s program decisions rest on. Doing that reliably, week after week, is a skilled job rather than a routine one.

The role would suit someone who wants to remain closely involved in experiments while contributing to the development of new medicines. We welcome experienced research assistants and scientists moving from academic laboratories, including applicants returning after a career break.

What Portara offers

At Portara, we value technical expertise as a career in its own right. You will have opportunities to broaden your assay skills, develop and refine methods, and take ownership of laboratory workflows, supported by close collaboration with experienced scientists and company leadership.

We offer a flexible 0.5-1 FTE appointment, with working arrangements agreed around your commitments and the practical needs of laboratory work. Eligibility to participate in our employee share option plan provides an opportunity to share in the company’s long-term success.

- A hands-on role in the early scientific team of an ambitious biotechnology company, where technical expertise is valued in its own right.
- Close collaboration with company leadership and experienced drug-discovery scientists.
- Genuine part-time flexibility, with the appointment fraction, working days and hours agreed to suit the applicant and laboratory requirements.
- Training in Portara-specific methods and scope to deepen expertise across cancer pharmacology and drug discovery.
- A competitive salary, statutory superannuation and eligibility to participate in Portara’s employee equity program.
- The opportunity to contribute directly to a new therapeutic modality and to the creation of medicines for patients with serious disease.

Employment conditions The successful candidate will be offered permanent part time employment with Portara Bioscience Pty Ltd at 0.5–1 FTE, equivalent to two to three full working days per week. Applications for 0.5 FTE arrangements are welcome. The appointment fraction, working days and hours will be agreed to suit the successful applicant and laboratory requirements.

The principal employment terms, including remuneration, superannuation, probation, leave, notice and eligibility to participate in the employee equity program, will be set out in the candidate’s offer letter. Employment will also be subject to a formal Employment Agreement and Portara’s applicable policies and procedures.

Applications

Please provide a CV and a short statement describing the assays you currently perform independently, and your preferred working pattern.

Application contact and closing date: November 15 2026.

Please send applications and enquires to:

Dr Pat Sharp – Co-Founder and CEO [email protected]

Dr Joshua Casan – Co-Founder and CMO [email protected]

📌 Research Scientist (Melbourne)
🏢 Portara Bioscience
📍 Melbourne