Postdoctoral Fellow - Structural Biology and Protein Science

R-180519: Postdoctoral Fellow - Structural Biology and Protein Science

Location: Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK

Competitive Salary, Bonus & Benefits Package

Have you got a passion for structural biology and protein science? Would you like to apply your expertise to impact our understanding of transcription factors’ structure and function in a world leading company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then this exciting opportunity at AstraZeneca could be the ideal next step in your career!

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centred biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercialising prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than a global leading pharmaceutical company. At AstraZeneca, we're dedicated to being a Great Place to Work and empowering employees to push the boundaries of science and fuel their entrepreneurial spirit.

About our Postdoc Programme

Bring your expertise, apply your knowledge, follow the science, and make a difference. AstraZeneca’s Postdoc Programme is for self-motivated individuals looking to deliver exciting projects in an encouraging, engaging, and innovative environment. You'll work with multidisciplinary scientific teams from a diverse set of backgrounds and a world-class academic mentor specifically aligned to your project. Our postdocs are respected as specialists, encouraged to speak up, and supported to share their research at conferences, publish papers, achieve their goals.

Make a more meaningful impact in your career, with greater ownership and accountability to make a contribution whilst making a difference to the lives of our patients!

This is a 3-year programme.

About the Opportunity

As a postdoc in this project, you will have an opportunity to drive the project independently.

Your ideas and innovations will be encouraged and embraced, allowing you to shape the direction of the research and publish in high impact journals. You will also have the unique opportunity to collaborate with three dynamic and influential teams. Within AstraZeneca, you’ll closely engage with the Protein Science team, a group of dedicated experts driving the generation and characterisation of high-quality protein reagents, and Mechanistic and Structural Biology team that will help you to obtain high resolution structural data using state-of-art equipment and top-level expertise.

The academic supervisor will be Prof. Jason Carroll, a distinguished expert in the field of molecular biology and cancer research. He leads his team in CRUK Cambridge Institute where he utilises pioneering techniques, such as genome-wide sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation and functional genomics approaches, to understand the role of transcription factors and chromatin dynamics in cancer development and progression.

Project Focus

The aim of the project will be to obtain novel, high-resolution structural information about FOXA1-nucleosome complex and to describe details of protein interaction network between FOXA1 (a pioneering factor playing a crucial role in the development and progression of breast and prostate cancers), other relevant transcription/pioneering factors and nucleosomes. Data obtained will provide unprecedented, deep understanding of the interactions, behaviour and structural and conformational changes of these proteins in chromatin-like context.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the design and execution of experiments related to protein expression purification and biophysical characterisation
• employ techniques such as Cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) and/or X-ray crystallography to gain atomic-level insights into the architecture of researched complexes
• perform mass spectrometry-based experiments to gain better understanding of structure-to-function relationships of analysed proteins
• publish in internationally recognised journals

Qualification, Skills & Experience

Essential Requirements

• A PhD or equivalent, in Biophysics, Biochemistry or a related biomedical subject
• Comprehensive skills in molecular biology, protein expression and purification
• Knowledge of all aspects of Single Particle Cryo-EM including sample preparation, data acquisition and data analysis using diverse cryo-EM software packages
• Proven ability to independently design and conduct experiments and interpret results
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills

Desirable Requirements

• Experience in other techniques of structural biology eg X-ray crystallography, including sample preparation, data acquisition and data analysis
• Experience in generation and biochemical, physicochemical and functional characterisation of protein complexes
• Experience in working with transcription factors and/or nucleosomes

Reasons to Apply

This position offers an exciting blend of ground-breaking research, access to eminent experts, learning opportunities, state-of-art equipment, high impact publications, collaborative environment and the autonomy to drive your scientific passions. The supportive and collaborative ecosystem we offer ensures that your journey is not just about the research but also about personal and professional development.

As a respected specialist, we will empower you to take appropriate risks, lead the project and “run with it”, along with providing you will all the support you need.

Why AstraZeneca

The unique positioning of this postdoc within a pharmaceutical company such as AZ, means that you will be able to access large datasets which are not available in the public domain. Moreover, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that methods and techniques you develop will not only be published but will also be used within AZ after the postdoc position concludes, in real-life projects - and that ultimately the work you do will directly impact patients’ lives!

As a key member of a research group and taking a leading role on a Postdoctoral project, we expect regular attendance - a minimum of 3 days per week on the AstraZeneca campus. For laboratory-based scientists, this may be higher.

Given the unique positioning of our Postdoctoral researchers, you may have an additional opportunity to spend some time with an external academic mentor. In this instance, you may be required to spend some of your time working alongside them at their facility as driven by the research project. Your flexibility to meet the needs of the research and the scope of the project is required, and we also look to support you with flexibility in accordance with our standard work policies.

Next Steps

If your passion is science and you want to be part of a team that makes a bigger impact on patients’ lives, then there’s no better place to be.

This advert will be running from Monday, 23rd October 2023 and, we welcome your application as soon as possible, but ahead of the scheduled closing date of Sunday, 14th January 2024. In the event, that we identify suitable candidates ahead of the scheduled closing date, we reserve the right to withdraw the vacancy earlier than published.

Find Out More

AstraZeneca – R&D: https://www.astrazeneca.com/r-d.html

The Carroll Lab: http://www.carroll-lab.org.uk/

AZ’s Postdoc Programme: https://careers.astrazeneca.com/postdocs-astrazeneca

Life at AstraZeneca: https://careers.astrazeneca.com/life-at-astrazeneca

This is what we’re made of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmFx_jr2eFo&t=2s

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We follow all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.

Date Posted

23-Oct-2023

Closing Date

13-Jan-2024

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.