Senior Research Scientist, Biophysics - Mechanistic and Structural Biology

Bold Disruptors.  Push the boundaries of science Fearlessly break new ground

Work at the cutting-edge, where scientific innovations and an entrepreneurial spirit are the norm.

And in return… we’re looking for curious minds, comfortable taking smart risks and learning

from failures.

Who we are

AstraZeneca is a global, science-driven biopharmaceutical company. We are dedicated to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative, meaningful medicines and healthcare solutions that enrich the lives of patients. Science and patients are at the heart of everything we do.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a talented and passionate biophysical scientist to play an influential role in drug discovery projects at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, UK.

Based within our Protein Structure and Biophysics as a lab-based Senior Research Scientist within the Biophysics group in Cambridge, you will join our Discovery Sciences area in AstraZeneca’s BioPharmaceuticals organisation. The department has leading capabilities in protein science, biophysics, crystallography and cryo-EM. The Biophysics team has expertise in molecular biophysics methods, including SPR, NMR, ITC, DSF, HDX-MS, nMS and single molecule approaches. We apply biophysics in small-molecule, peptides and large-molecule drug discovery from target validation to drug candidate. With this recruitment we will enhance our capability to address previously intractable oncology drug targets.

What you’ll do:

Working collaboratively in drug discovery projects with structural biologists, protein scientists, oncology bioscientists and chemists, you will develop innovative approaches to create high-quality lead compounds and candidate drugs.

• Develop bespoke biophysical assays using a range of techniques
• Provide quantitative biophysical data on protein-ligand binding (reversible and covalent compounds and new drug modalities) including affinity, kinetic, stoichiometric, Kinact/Ki data to inform chemistry design and mechanistic understanding
• Fragment screening and SAR using SPR assays
• Validate and characterise hits from various screens (HTS, DNA-encoded library, virtual, collaborations)
• Provide high fidelity data and insights on the molecular mechanism of lead compounds
• Identify and drive improvements and innovations in biophysics capability
• Achieve personal scientific visibility through project contributions and internal presentations; and external scientific visibility through conference presentations and authorship on peer-reviewed publications

Essential Requirements

• Formal training and proven expertise in molecular biophysics or biochemistry and at least 5 years relevant experience (PhD and postdoc or industry experience; publications)
• Extensive experience in biophysical characterization of molecular interactions and mechanistic insights, using methods such as SPR, NMR, ITC, DSF, fluorescence-based and single-molecule methods
• A track record of scientific excellence and peer-reviewed publications or patents

Desirable

• Experience in single-molecule biophysics methods
• Experience in drug discovery, preferably in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry