Drug Metabolism and Disposition Imaging Intern

Job Description

Envision spending your summer working with energetic colleagues and inspirational leaders, all while gaining world-class experience in one of the most dynamic organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a reality for AbbVie Interns.  

This internship involves developing new protocols and experimental workflows in the drug metabolism and disposition department of AbbVie. You will get the chance to: 

• Evaluate the impact of in-source decay and fragmentation on MALDI mass spectrometry imaging platforms.  

• Optimize and test novel instrumentation and workflows in mass spectrometry imaging. 

• Develop assays to enable localization of antibody drug conjugates in tissue.

• Implement iPRM-PASEF workflows to build a tissue ion atlas for zebra fish and/or any other organs of interest in toxicity studies.

• Combine MS imaging and LC-MS workflows to identify and quantify endogenous and therapeutic molecules of interest on the same or serial sections. 

Key responsibilities include: 

• Prepare samples for MS imaging including cryosectioning, matrix application by spraying or sublimation. 

• Acquiring MS data on Bruker timsTOF fleX, Agilent QqQ with MassTech AP/MALDI-UHR, and Waters DESI TQ-Absolute mass spectrometers.  

• Responsible for basic data acquisition, processing, and report writing. 

• Present results and key findings to supervisor, department, and at internal poster session.   

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications  

• Currently enrolled in university, pursuing a PhD in chemistry, biochemistry or other related field.

• Must be enrolled in university for at least one semester following the internship.  

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 

• Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Expected graduation date between December 2026 – June 2027.

• Experience with mass spectrometry instrumentation from multiple vendors.

• Knowledge of fresh frozen sample preparation techniques.

• Working experience with small molecule structural elucidation.