Research And Development Associate

About the Role

Cosma is building a non-hormonal, CDSCO-approved fertility support device, developed at IIT Bombay, for couples who sit between “keep waiting” and IVF. The science is ours. What decides whether doctors trust us is the quality of our evidence. This role has three jobs: Research, New product development, and Clinical trials.

Key Responsibilities

1. RESEARCH AND R&D

• Visit research institutes, universities and laboratories in person. Build relationships, agree scopes, MoUs and timelines, review progress on site, and keep every collaboration moving with named owners and dates.
• Source and meet scientists, PhD scholars and postdocs at these institutes, both as collaborators and as future hires.
• Support projects in drug development, biotechnology, nanotechnology and reproductive health.
• Prepare and deliver scientific presentations, reports and project updates to the internal team, doctors and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to manuscripts, publications and technical documentation.
• Maintain accurate research records and project documentation, always ready to be shown to a regulator, a partner or an investor.
• Be our biotech and nanotech expert. You are the scientific voice on the nano-engineered technology behind FertiGen, in the lab, with partners and with doctors.

2. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• Scout and shape new products in fertility and reproductive health: review the science, the gaps doctors and patients describe, and the technology options with our institute partners.
• Run each new product as a project: concept note, feasibility, prototype, lab or pilot validation, regulatory pathway (CDSCO), with milestones, owners and a budget.
• Work with external labs, formulators and manufacturers on prototypes and testing; keep specifications, test reports and vendor records in order.
• Prepare product dossiers and evidence summaries that the team, doctors and regulators can use. File patents and publications where the work deserves it.
• Present progress and decisions to the founder monthly: what is working, what it costs and what to drop.

3. CLINICAL TRIALS AND DATA

• Own the trial data end to end: case report forms, enrolment logs, consent records, follow-up data.
• Track enrolment site by site (GTB, private hospitals and sites routed through an Institutional Ethics Committee - IEC): protocol, approvals, enrolment started, patients enrolled, patients due for follow-up.
• Close follow-up loops fast. Data for previously enrolled patients is chased and updated within 1 to 2 working days of it being due.
• Prepare and track protocol and IEC paperwork. Draft, version-control and submit documents; keep the founder briefed on what is pending and what is approved.
• Manage the clinical field team on the data side. Clinical research coordinators, nurses and MRs deployed to trial sites report data to you. You set the format, check quality and flag gaps the same day.
• Visit hospitals and trial sites regularly: meet doctors and coordinators, check records on the ground, and explain the science to clinicians when they ask.
• Give clinical updates: a short factual update to the founder after every site visit and a standing weekly clinical update.
• Supervise camps and outreach data: registrations, screening and referral data captured properly.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• PhD holders lead projects, own the trial data and manage the clinical field team on the data side.
• Master’s-level associates run trackers, data checks, follow-ups and visits, and grow into the lead role.
• Biotechnology or Nanotechnology with real hands-on research experience.
• Ability to write clearly: reports, protocols and one-page updates.
• Comfortable with data: structured datasets, spreadsheets, a data capture tool or database, basic statistics.
• Ability to present to doctors and to a founder with equal clarity.
• Willingness to visit institutes, hospitals and trial sites in person.
• Experience in taking something from idea to prototype or pilot, even in a lab, and ability to run a project with milestones.

Qualifications

• PhD or a Master's in Biotechnology or Nanotechnology.

Advantages:

• A PhD.
• Fertility or reproductive biology exposure.
• Drug development experience.
• Clinical trial or GCP training.
• Publications, patents or conference presentations.