At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer

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Cancer Research UKs Drug Discovery team are looking for an experienced and passionateSenior Scientistto bring scientific excellence and expertise to the design, prosecution and analysis of biochemical assays including bespoke mechanistic data and High Throughput Screening activities.

This is an opportunity for an experienced Senior Scientist to take on a leading role through drug discovery and capability build projects, working closely with academic PIs and Alliance partners. This could be your chance to contribute to defining our future HTS strategy and to validate and embed processes using our new automated robotics screening system. The Mechanistic Pharmacology team is a multidisciplinary group comprising biochemists, enzymologists, biophysicists, cell pharmacologists, sample management and HTS specialists so there is plenty of opportunity for learning, cross training and development. Furthermore, we actively encourage our colleagues to celebrate our science, by attending conferences, presenting posters, giving talks at events and publishing papers. You’ll also be surrounded by people as dedicated to beating cancer as you.

About CRUK Drug Discovery

As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we have helped bring eleven new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster.

We have recently developed a new approach to driving therapeutic innovation through the creation of Cancer Research Horizons (CRH). We have brought together Cancer Research UK’s established drug discovery teams under one organisation and leadership team, combining our unique pipeline of world class biology, cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise to 1) bring new treatments to patients faster and 2) tackle the biggest challenges in discovering cancer drugs by seeking out more radical ideas and embracing risk in our bid to achieve success.

What will I be doing?

Our new strategy sets out to bring deeper mechanistic understanding at the molecular and cellular level to all stages of projects, from Idea to pre-clinical candidate.

This laboratory-based role is focussed on designing and developing physiologically relevant biochemical assays in 384 well and 1536 well plate format to characterise cancer targets in detail at the molecular level, enable high-throughput screening, profile the structure-activity and structure-kinetic relationships of small molecules, and characterise their mechanism of action to inform dose prediction and clinical efficacy.

The successful candidate will drive innovative ways of working through keeping abreast of cutting-edge biochemistry, enzymology and HTS science. They will form an integral part of the Cancer Research Horizon Drug Discovery team working alongside our industry and academic partners to progress novel cancer targets towards patient benefit.

What skills will I need?

We are seeking an accomplished scientific expert with the following skills and experience:

A BSs, MSc or PhD in biological science such as biochemistry or pharmacology; relevant experience may be substituted for education

Significant experience in a drug discovery environment of assay development including dissecting enzyme and small molecule inhibitor mechanisms for a range of target classes

Detailed theoretical and practical understanding of biochemical assays and detection technologies, with a particular focus on physiologically relevant systems

Significant experience in liquid handling and automated dispensing 

Significant experience of analysing large datasets with appropriate statistical rigour

Experience of running biochemical and cell-based high throughput screens of small molecules in 384well and 1536 well plate format is. desirable

Additional experience in prosecution and robust statistical analysis of high throughput screening data would be desirable.

What will I gain?

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do. 

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively 

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer. 

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. 

What will I gain? 

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals. 

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page. 

How do I apply? 

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

One of our values at CRUK is Being Human. Whilst we understand that AI has it's benefits, we want to hear about your personal experiences and why these make you suitable for the role. We have noticed some applicants being less successful in their applications when using AI due to lack of real life examples. To level the playing field and ensure fairness for all candidates, we strongly encourage responses to be written in your own words, drawing from personal experiences and knowledge. We discourage the use of AI when completing your application form and throughout the process.