Biology
Summer Intern, Statistical Genetics & Human Biobanks
Office Location: San Diego, CA
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARWR) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep, and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Arrowhead’s RNAi-based therapeutics leverage this natural pathway of gene silencing.
Arrowhead is focused on developing innovative drugs for diseases with a genetic basis, typically characterized by the overproduction of one or more proteins that are involved with disease. The depth and versatility of our RNAi technologies enables us to potentially address conditions in virtually any therapeutic area and pursue disease targets that are not otherwise addressable by small molecules and biologics. Arrowhead is leading the field in bringing the promise of RNAi to address diseases outside of the liver, and our clinical pipeline includes disease targets in the liver and lung with a promising pipeline of preclinical candidates.
Arrowhead’s corporate headquarters is in Pasadena, CA with research and development teams in Madison, WI & San Diego, CA, and a state of the art manufacturing facility in Verona, WI. Our employees are nimble, science-driven innovators who are collaborating to bring new therapies to patients in need.
The Position
The Statistical Genetics & Human Biobanks Intern will support Translational Genetics research at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by developing AI-augmented workflows that integrate large-scale global human biobank data to identify disease-relevant genes for RNAi target discovery. This internship offers hands-on experience applying statistical genetics, functional genomics, and causal inference methods to real-world therapeutic discovery challenges. The intern will collaborate closely with computational and translational scientists to generate high-confidence, genetically supported hypotheses that inform target prioritization and decision-making.
This is an 11-week Summer Internship Program paying $27.00 per hour and this role requires full-time, onsite work five days per week at the designated location.
Responsibilities
- Support analysis of large-scale genetic and biomedical datasets to help identify disease-relevant signals.
- Assist in developing and applying analytical and AI-enabled workflows for data integration, interpretation, and reporting.
- Contribute to evidence synthesis and data summarization to support research and target evaluation efforts.
- Help assess consistency and robustness of findings across multiple datasets or sources.
- Prepare clear summaries, visualizations, or reports to communicate results to the project team.
- Present updates and findings during team meetings and participate in scientific discussions.
- Collaborate with scientists and computational team members on research projects and special initiatives.
Requirements
- Currently pursuing a PhD in Statistical Genetics, Human Genetics, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, or a closely related field.
- Hands-on experience analyzing data from at least one major human biobank.
- Proficiency in Python and/or R for statistical genetics and data analysis workflows.
- Familiarity with GWAS summary statistics, rare variant interpretation (pLoF/GoF), and functional genomics datasets such as eQTL and pQTL.
- Strong understanding of population genetics, genetic architecture, and variant-to-gene mapping.
- Ability to translate genetic association evidence into actionable therapeutic hypotheses.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to collaborate in a cross-functional research environment.
Preferred
- Proficiency with statistical genetics and functional genomics tools such as REGENIE, SAIGE, TWAS frameworks, Mendelian randomization packages, and colocalization methods.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret pLoF/GoF variants and integrate eQTL/pQTL data with GWAS findings to identify causal genes and pathways.
- Experience developing AI- or LLM-assisted analytics for evidence synthesis, automation, or variant-to-gene mapping.
- Strong interest in translational genetics, RNAi therapeutics, and data-driven target discovery.
Arrowhead provides competitive salaries and an excellent benefit package.
All applicants must have authorization to work in the US for a company.