At Biogen, our mission is clear - we are pioneers in neuroscience. Biogen discovers, develops, and delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Together, our employees create, commercialize, and manufacture transformative therapies for our patient population.  

We at Biogen are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients who we serve. We are focused on strengthening our foundation to advance our overall Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) strategy and, most importantly, ensure all our employees feel included. 

As an intern or co-op at Biogen, you can expect to be placed on a real project, under the guidance of experienced professionals and subject matter experts who are invested in your career and academic growth. We also ensure that you have plenty of opportunities to build your network, learn more about our organization through weekly lunch and learns led by leaders from across the company, and join us for several fun events.  

Summary 

This application is for a 6-month student role from January - June 2024. Resume review begins in October 2023. 

Our team is Translational Data Sciences. The aim of our team is to perform high quality computational analysis on genomics/transcriptomics datasets, standardize NGS data analysis pipelines, and work on cutting edge computational tools and technologies. We collaborate closely with all discovery teams to perform computational analysis of NGS datasets. These includes analysis of DNAseq RNAseq, miRNAseq, snRNAseq to perform target identification, engagement and assessment. 

Position Description 

As a co-op, you will: 

• Apply state-of-art deep learning models, e.g., transformers, for cell type annotation in single-cell RNA-seq data. 
• Get familiar with the Biogen servers and datasets 
• Write code in python/bash to perform tasks 
• Process publicly available scRNAseq datasets using our internal single cell pipeline 
• Attend scheduled team bi-weekly meetings  
• Give bi-weekly updates of progress. 

Example projects may include: 

• Explore and implement deep learning models for cell type annotation in single-cell RNAseq data. Current annotation methods struggle with limited marker gene lists and batch effect handling, hindering generalization.  
• scBERT, a large-scale transformer model offers advantages: 1) Learning learn complex representations from the data without heuristics feature engineering in an unsupervised manner. 2) Leveraging pre-trained models on large datasets and fine-tuning with labeled reference data. 3) Continuous updating for dynamic adaptation to new data and knowledge.  
• In addition to cell type annotation, the transformer framework can be extended to variety of downstream tasks such as multiomics data integration, analysis of gene-gene interactions, and perturbation response prediction. 

• Experience with AI/machine learning methods development or application in biological sciences. 
• Experience with computational analysis of single-cell RNA-seq.  
• Coding experience in Python, Bash, R and data visualization tools 

To participate in the Biogen Internship Program, students must meet the following eligibility criteria: 

• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. 
• At least 18 years of age prior to the scheduled start date 
• Be currently enrolled in an accredited college or university 

Education 

Pursuing PhD in computational biology and related area

Why Biogen?

Our mission to find therapies for neurological and rare diseases is a unique focus within our industry and this shared purpose is what connects us as a team. We work together to overcome obstacles and to follow the science. We are resilient as we strive to make an impact on our patients’ lives and on changing the course of medicine. Together, we pioneer. Together, we thrive.

At Biogen, we are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients we serve. We know that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives make us a stronger and more innovative company, and we are focused on building teams where every employee feels empowered and inspired. Read on to learn more about our DE&I efforts.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Biogen is an E-Verify Employer in the United States.