R-180210: Postdoctoral Fellow - Molecular and Cell Biology - Oncogenic KRAS Signalling

Location: The Discovery Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK

Competitive Salary, Bonus & Benefits Package

Do you have a strong expertise in molecular and cell biology, and passion for cellular imaging? Would you like to apply your expertise to uncover the initiating mechanisms of oncogenic RAS signalling in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then join the Mechanistic Biology & Profiling group at AstraZeneca and unlock the power of what science can do.

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

The purpose of this position is to provide early-career researchers with an opportunity to further develop their expertise and skills in the field of molecular and cellular biology. Postdocs play a crucial role in advancing scientific knowledge and driving innovation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

In this position, the postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for directly performing experimental work using classical and pioneering molecular and cell biology and biochemical techniques in order to develop and utilise cellular biosensors capable of tracking conformational changes among the members of the RAF family of kinases during the physiological and oncogenic activation of the RAS signalling pathway.

This position is based in AZ’s Discovery Sciences (DS) where we apply world-leading expertise to support the identification of quality disease targets and develop drug candidates that will be safe and efficacious in the clinic.

You will join the Mechanistic Biology & Profiling group that drives the identification of the best drug candidates through quantitative mechanistic understanding of the interactions between targets and potential therapeutic agents. We are responsible for efficacy profiling and bespoke mechanism of action evaluations.

Project Focus

This position offers a fantastic opportunity to be at the heart of a cross-department and cross-institution collaboration. Your AZ supervisor, Pamela Lochhead, has a wealth of experience in dissecting disease driving signalling pathways and mentoring research scientists.

For the purpose of this project, DS is partnering with Oncology Biosciences, which are in charge of linking disease targets and pathobiology to clinical opportunity. The collaboration also pulls together RAS-RAF Oncology Bioscience expertise from Sarah Ross, Structural Biology expertise from Christopher Phillips and academic mentorship from Simon Cook at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge. AstraZeneca has a strong network of postdoctoral scientists in Discovery Sciences and Oncology and our Postdoc would be an integral part of this community.

What You’ll Do

Our postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for planning, conducting, and recording experiments. You will play a lead role in driving the science forward under the direction of the supervisor. Whilst the majority of your time will be spent conducting research within AZ’s laboratories, there will be the opportunity also to work out of the Babraham Institute, as necessary.

You will present your work in forums within Discovery Science and Oncology at AstraZeneca, at the Babraham Institute, and National and International Conferences. Fostering good relationships with the parties involved (Discovery Sciences, Oncology, and the Babraham) is essential for this role and this project is geared toward publishing in high-impact journals.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Research, design and conduct experiments
• Maintain effective communication as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Plan, write, publish, and present high-quality scientific papers

Qualification, Skills & Experience

Essential Requirements

• A PhD or equivalent in Life Sciences, and an understanding of Cancer Biology
• Significant knowledge on Molecular and Cell Biology laboratory techniques
• Expertise in cellular imaging
• Strong expertise in mammalian tissue culture
• Strong organisational, communication and interpersonal skills
• A record of work published in reputable scientific journals

Desirable Requirements

• An understanding of cancer drug pharmacology
• Experience building high throughput assays
• Previous experience of performing work on human kinases
• Familiarity with structural biology data

Reasons to Apply

This is an exciting opportunity to apply a new molecular cell biology technology to visualise the initiating step in oncogenic RAS signalling - one of the most prevalent drivers of cancer. 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 Tuesday, 24th 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 Oncology: https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-therapy-areas/oncology.html

Our approach to R&D: https://www.astrazeneca.com/r-d/our-approach.html

AstraZeneca Cambridge: https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-company/our-locations/cambridge.html

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

Closing Date

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.