Postdoctoral Fellow - Illuminating RAS interactomes for cancer drug discovery

R-180214: Postdoctoral Fellow - Illuminating RAS interactomes for cancer drug discovery

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

Competitive Salary, Bonus & Benefits Package

Do you have expertise in, and passion for, RAS biology? Would you like to apply your expertise to extend knowledge of RAS interactomes and impact RAS targeting strategies in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then join the Oncology Biosciences team 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 aim of this position is to develop cell models and interactome mapping approaches to explore physiologically relevant RAS interactomes. This Postdoc opportunity will utilise innovative proximity labelling methodologies to reveal physiologically relevant RAS interactomes, enhancing the fundamental understanding of RAS biology and revealing novel targeting strategies.

Our successful Postdoc will join the RAS cluster within the Oncology Biosciences team in AstraZeneca, with a primary focus on in vitro, cell biology-based work to develop cell models and systems for interactomes analysis, preparing samples for Mass Spectrometry and performing functional validation of hits of interest.

The RAS cluster is an inclusive team within Oncology, supporting numerous drug discovery and research projects, with frequent team meetings, journal clubs & informal events to promote a cooperative, supportive environment whilst pursuing a unified goal. Cell model development and RAS interactomics will be performed in collaboration with the Cell Engineering and Chemical Biology & Proteomics teams at AstraZeneca, giving the candidate the opportunity to learn from and be supported by experts in their respective fields.

Project Focus

This project will be an opportunity to further drive the development of a pioneering interactome mapping technique developed by the Chemical Biology and Proteomics team at AstraZeneca and apply it to a high-impact target in RAS Biology. The project represents a novel approach to map endogenous protein-protein interactions, allowing the first evaluation of native RAS isoform and mutant-specific interactome with greater depth than previous studies.

Reporting to Andrew Kidger, Associate Principal Scientist at AZ, you’ll also be supported by, and collaborate with, a multi-disciplinary team at AstraZeneca and with our academic partnership with Frank McCormick’s lab at UCSF. This environment will give our Postdoc the opportunity to lead their independent project, whilst learning a broad range of innovative techniques from experts in their field within a dynamic drug-discovery environment.

Our academic partner, Frank McCormick, is a Professor at UCSF with a world leading lab focused on the characterising the RAS signalling network as well as Scientific Director of the NCI RAS Initiative, overseeing a national effort to develop therapies against RAS-driven cancers. Therefore, the McCormick lab will be able to provide invaluable guidance and access to biological tools to help support the validation and characterisation of novel RAS interactors.

What You’ll Do

Responsibilities will involve the generation of required cell models and the optimisation of novel interactome mapping technology in the context of RAS biology.

You will then utilise these models and techniques to compare the interactomes of RAS isoforms and mutants, and how these respond to stimuli and pharmacological modulation. Novel or therapeutically relevant interactors will be selected for validation and mechanistic exploration.

Qualification, Skills & Experience

Our Postdoc programme is aimed at individuals who are either:

• Within 5-years of obtaining their doctoral degree (PhD, DVM, or MD) - PhD already awarded, or
• Students, soon to obtain doctoral degrees (the PhD must be awarded within 6 months of joining AstraZeneca)

Essential Requirements

• PhD or equivalent in a relevant area of specialism such as, but not limited to Cell Biology, Cancer Biology
• Good understanding of cancer cell biology and a passion for experimental work
• Experience of a range of in vitro cell and of molecular biological techniques and assays
• Experience of mammalian cell line tissue culture techniques
• Ability to design and conduct experiments and develop methods
• Good communication and presentation skills, with the ability to maintain clear experimental records
• Positive and collaborative team player with willingness to improve and learn new skills

Desirable Requirements

• An understanding of RAS biology
• Experience of proximity labelling and interactome mapping approaches
• Experience of CRISPR mediated cell engineering
• Evidence of publication record

Reasons to Apply

This is a fantastic opportunity to develop and apply innovative interactome mapping methodologies to explore the biology of key therapeutic targets. You will work in an industry-leading group with a strong publication track record and be supported by a leading academic supervisor. 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.

Furthermore, within Oncology Bioscience there is a vibrant community of postdocs pursuing independent research projects alongside the core drug discovery teams, ensuring that there is a supportive environment of peers performing exploratory research. This fits with the ethos of the Oncology Bioscience team to explore, propose and validate new targets, in addition to supporting ongoing drug discovery projects.

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 Thursday, 26th 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/medicines-portfolio-and-pipeline.html

Tumour Drivers & Resistance: https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-therapy-areas/oncology/Tumour-drivers-and-resistance.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.