Everything You Need to Know About Assay Development Scientists In 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic drew people’s attention to the importance of diagnostic testing and assay development scientists found themselves working harder than ever before. Caused by a novel virus that is highly contagious, has a unique set of symptoms, and has an unpredictable progression, it became crucial to be able to identify Covid-19 in potentially infected people. 

When it became evident that not everyone developed symptoms, but those who did not get sick could still spread the virus, testing for Covid-19 became top of the agenda for the world’s health authorities. As a result of the raised demand for diagnostic tests, the need for assay development scientists increased. 

They were required to rapidly develop tests to identify the SARS-Co-V-2 virus and its numerous mutations. The healthcare system was relying on the work of assay development scientists so that medical resources could be allocated to the people who needed them the most¹. Scientists have been working tirelessly to develop not only diagnostic tests, but also vaccines and drugs to prevent Covid-19 infection and treat people with the disease. 

What Do Assay Development Scientists Do?

An assay is a laboratory test to determine the presence and amount of a substance in a biological sample, such as blood or saliva. Assays are also used to determine the biological or pharmacological potency of a drug or vaccine². The ability of assay development scientists to design, build, and run assays that are specific, sensitive, and robust is essential in all areas of biological science. Some of the ways assays are used include³:

• To quantify the levels of a specific chemical or pathogen in a biological sample such as a virus.
• To determine the levels of a specific metabolite in the serum or urine.
• The identification of new drug molecules.
• To measure the amount of gene expression levels.

Diagnostics companies that are developing new diagnostic tests and pharmaceuticals for the medical field require the expertise of assay development scientists. Companies such as Caris Life Science, Myriad Genetics, and Tempus, to name a few, are constantly searching for scientific professionals for their teams.

Assay Development Scientists Are Important For Disease Detection

Covid-19 has everyone talking about PCR tests and rapid-antigen tests, but what does that mean? There are numerous means of testing for diseases. Each specific test applies to a certain disease. Assay development scientists develop diagnostic tests for various diseases such as oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurological conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and autism.

An assay development scientist is familiar with the numerous different types of assays and their applications. Each one has a unique set of uses, benefits, and disadvantages⁴. Three of the most common types of diagnostic tests are:

• PCR: Polymerase chain reaction tests are the most well-known tests in molecular biology and the most commonly used test for detecting the SARS-Co-V-2 virus. It involves replicating a single DNA molecule to create millions of copies in a short space of time⁵. 
• NGS: Next-generation sequencing is used to sequence an entire genome or a targeted area of DNA or RNA to answer complex genomics questions⁶.
• ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is an immunological test used to detect and quantify substances, including antibodies, antigens, proteins, glycoproteins, and hormones⁷.

Finding A Job As An Assay Development Scientist

If you have a bachelor's, Master's, or Doctorate in molecular biology, biophysics, biology, or biochemistry, you may be a candidate for an assay development position. Annual salaries range from $63,000 to $120,000, with assay development scientists with the highest qualification and greatest experience earning as much as $141,500 per year.

The world is your oyster, with 9545 positions for assay development scientists currently available in the U.S. With growing populations and an ever-changing diagnostics and pharmaceutical industry, there is a growing demand for people working in this field.

Hiring An Assay Development Scientist

Not everyone is actively searching for a new job. It has been found that job boards only reach 15% of all eligible candidates for any given position, missing the 85% of the remaining possible candidates who are not actively looking. 

Connexis Search Group has been recruiting assay development scientists for more than two decades. We have over 4,000 assay development candidates in our database to facilitate your search for the perfect candidate. Our hunt for the best candidates includes not only professionals that respond to job postings but passive candidates too. 

Contact Connexis Search Group for quality, referenced assay development scientist job candidates. 

References

1. Das S, Dunbar S. The COVID-19 Pandemic – A Diagnostic Industry Perspective. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology [Internet]. 2022 Mar 24 [cited 2022 Aug 13]; Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.862440 
2. Medical Definition of Assay [Internet]. MedicineNet. MedicineNet; 3AD [cited 2022 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.medicinenet.com/assay/definition.htm 
3. Labome. Assay Development: 5 Considerations and 8 Fundamentals [Internet]. Validated Antibody Database, antibodies, siRNA/shRNA, ELISA, cDNA clones, proteins/peptides, and biochemicals. [cited 2022 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.labome.com/method/How-to-Develop-Assays-5-Considerations-and-8-Fundamentals.html 
4. Emily JC MSciReviewed. Assay Techniques [Internet]. News-Medical.net. AZoLifeSciences; 2020 [cited 2022 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.azolifesciences.com/article/Assay-Techniques.aspx 
5. PCR Basics | Thermo Fisher Scientific - US [Internet]. Thermo Fisher Scientific - US. 2019 [cited 2022 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.thermofisher.com/za/en/home/life-science/cloning/cloning-learning-center/invitrogen-school-of-molecular-biology/pcr-education/pcr-reagents-enzymes/pcr-basics.html 
6. Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) | Explore the technology [Internet]. Illumina | Sequencing and array-based solutions for genetic research. [cited 2022 Aug 14]. Available from: https://emea.illumina.com/science/technology/next-generation-sequencing.html 
7. Alhajj M. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf [Internet]. National Center for Biotechnology Information. [cited 2022 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555922/