Dmpk Group Leader

Collaborative concepting. Shared expertise. Leading-edge learnings.

DMPK Group Leader

Salary : From £67,200 - £76,000 per annum depending on experience

Reports to : Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry and DMPK

Department : Research and Innovation

Contract : Permanent

Hours : Full time 35 hours per week

Location : Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge or CRUK Scotland Institute, Glasgow

Closing date : 14 April 2024

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone determined, someone like you.

We currently have an exciting opportunity within our Drug Discovery team for an experienced individual to lead and drive our DMPK and translational modelling strategy as we start to implement our new 5-year plan.

We are seeking an accomplished scientific and people leader who can articulate a vision for our mission and set direction and inspire commitment for preclinical Discovery.

About CRUK Drug Discovery

As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we’ve 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.

We have a major focus on establishing and prosecuting biologically themed multi-project alliances with industrial partners, or through creation of new companies. Based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, the Milner Institute in Cambridge, Granta Park in Cambridge, the CRUK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, the Francis Crick Institute in London, and Newcastle University, Cancer Research Horizons employs ~200 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds.

We bring together the best minds in basic and clinical cancer research, the diligence and drive of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and our in-house drug discovery and alliance management capabilities to deliver breakthrough medicines for cancer patients.

Our laboratories house the personnel and state of the art equipment required to progress projects from initial hypothesis through to selection of candidate drugs for regulatory development. We couple this with a deep understanding of academic and industrial drivers, enabling us to build alliances that combine the curiosity of basic research and the rigour of drug discovery.

What will I be doing?

• Design, propose and execute innovative experiments which positively impact projects and the overall direction of in vitro/in vivo science.

• Maintain awareness of external developments in the DMPK and PKPD fields, the application of these to on-going projects and proactively suggest and evaluate new techniques.

• Design and implement new ways of working that have a direct impact on data quality and productivity.

• Contribute to the strategic leadership within the Medicinal Chemistry and DMPK group, as well as the overall Therapeutic Innovation research strategy.

• Effectively manage appropriate outsourcing activities.

• Effectively prioritise and co-ordinates multiple areas of work.

• Lead and drive a high-performing team to provide all aspects of DMPK and PKPD expertise.

• Manage internal expertise, capacity, and resources to drive governance and decision-making regarding scientific portfolio support and technology development.

• Communicate and share knowledge and expertise effectively within and across the organisation.

• Present and clarify results across departments and to alliance partners.

• Ensure a high level of data integrity within DMPK group.

• Lead drug discovery projects where appropriate.

• Be a recognised and passionate leader, able to represent the department across a broad range of therapeutic projects and cross-site initiatives, both internally as well as externally.

• Drive scientific and technical innovation, including through external collaboration and partnership.

• Ensure equality and diversity is celebrated and considered as part of all decisions taken.

What skills will I need?

• PhD or equivalent experience in Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Drug metabolism or Pharmacokinetics encompassing a significant element of Modelling & Simulation, such as quantitative pharmacology, systems biology, pharmacometrics, applied mathematics.

• Significant experience and deep expertise in DMPK aspects of drug discovery.

• Relevant industry experience in Modelling & Simulation in a preclinical and translational setting.

• Proven track record of delivering PK, PKPD and TKPD aspects to projects, including significant experience in translating drug-target kinetics through to mechanistic PKPD modelling for therapeutic dose prediction.

• Expert in specialist tools such as MATLAB, SimCYP, WinNonLin/Phoenix NLME.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills coupled with strong influence and leadership skills.

• Proven track record of portfolio impact across a range of challenging target classes, through intellectual and laboratory-based contributions, and project leadership.

• Strong external reputation in translational PKPD modelling and DMPK, evidenced through wide personal network, external presentation, and publication in high-impact journals.

• Significant experience in developing and leading a diverse world-class team, whilst working in a highly matrixed discovery project environment.

• Significant experience of establishing and leading external academic and industrial collaborations, and technology change projects.

• Track record of delivering results across a diverse project portfolio by driving strategic and scientific initiatives.

• Deep expertise in translational PKPD modelling and DMPK.

• Confidence and credibility to w ork at the intersection between mechanistic pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry & DMPK to define and prosecute strategies that deliver impactful insight across a range of challenging target classes, through to clinical dose prediction.

• Ability to provide People, Scientific and Strategic leadership for the DMPK team, and wider CRH, to drive innovation and portfolio success.

• Future-orientated and strategic in thinking style.

• Excellent communication skills, ability to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites.

• A passion for promotion of scientific excellence, through external publication, presentations etc.

• Excellent team-working skills combined with cross-functional knowledge.

What will I gain?

Every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive.

In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies, and processes to enable you to do your job well.

Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more.

We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture.

Our work – from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy – will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team.

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 quickly, fairly and objectively.

There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner.

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. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk .

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.