Senior Research Scientist, In vitro Safety Profiling & Ion Channel Pharmacology - AstraZeneca

Vacancy Reference Number
R-043665
Closing Date
21 Feb 2019
Address
Cambridge

At AstraZeneca, we’re not afraid to do things differently. We’re building a new kind of organisation to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we’re opening up new ways to work, pioneering cutting edge methods and bringing unexpected teams together.

Discovery Sciences is a multi-faceted department which drives early drug discovery across AstraZeneca’s global Innovative Medicines and Early Development (IMED) portfolio. Mechanistic Biology & Profiling (part of Discovery Sciences), is a global, multidisciplinary department responsible for mechanism-of-action studies and compound profiling for efficacy and pre-clinical safety in support of the Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolic Disease (CVRM), Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity (RIA), and Neuroscience portfolios.

As a Senior Research Scientist in the In vitro Safety Profiling & Ion Channel Pharmacology team within the Mechanistic Biology & Profiling Group in Cambridge, UK, you will pursue world-class medicines in new ways, combining our people’s exceptional skills with those of people from all over the globe.

If you’re inspired by the possibilities of science to make a difference and ready to discover what you can do – join us.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

You will be part of a team in generating in vitro pharmacology data to provide mechanistic insight for drug discovery targets, as well as providing pre-clinical in vitro safety profiling to predict and understand compound (and novel drug modalities) liability at key safety-related targets.

As a Senior Research Scientist, you will drive your science within a high-performing team to provide early, impactful mechanistic pharmacology and safety insight to projects across the global IMEDs, through a combination of quantitative in vitro pharmacological approaches, which could include ‘omics, mass spectrometry, high content imaging or electrophysiology.  You will be a credible lab-based scientist, able to interact across a broad range of therapeutic projects and global initiatives within Discovery Sciences and IMEDs, and also externally. You will also represent the group on project teams, and drive scientific and technical innovation, including through external collaboration and partnership.

This is an opportunity for a highly motivated scientist to work in a vibrant group to generate in vitro pharmacology data to provide mechanistic insight in support of both drug efficacy and safety.

Essential Requirements:

  • Formal training and proven expertise (PhD + postdoc, or equivalent experience) in a biology-based discipline (pharmacology, ion channel biology) 
  • Proven external reputation in in vitro pharmacology, gained through external presentation and publication in high-impact journals
  • Strong experience in quantitative cellular biology techniques applied to the development of physiologically relevant assays, together with expertise in their application for compound profiling and detailed mechanism-of-action studies

Desirable Requirements:

  • Experience in the application of structure functions studies to understand pharmacology at the molecular level
  • Familiarity with in silico predictive modelling for both safety and efficacy studies
  • Practical experience in the application of new approaches to determine safety of novel drug modalities  
  • Is future orientated in thinking style.

For more information and to apply, click here