4,000 professionals, 0 days wasted, 1 incredible purpose. Together, we are beating cancer.

Senior Principal Scientist – Enzymology

Salary: Starting £67,200 – £76,000 depending on experience and negotiable

Contract type/hours: Permanent, full time 35 hours per week (flexible working requests will be considered if they meet business needs)

Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge or CRUK Scotland Institute of Cancer Research, 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 we’re looking for someone talented, someone innovative and ambitious, someone like you.

We’re looking for a passionate Senior Principal Scientist to lead and drive our Mechanistic Enzymology strategy, based at our Babraham Research Campus facilities in Cambridge, or CRUK Scotland Institute facilities in Glasgow. This is an exciting opportunity and a great time to join us as we start to implement our new 5-year plan.

About Cancer Research Horizons

At Cancer Research UK, our focus is on beating cancer. 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. 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.

What will I be doing?

Our new strategy sets out to bring deeper mechanistic understanding at the molecular and cellular level to all stages of projects, from idea to pre-clinical candidate. Reporting directly to the SVP Drug Discovery, you will set the vision and lead our mechanistic enzymology strategy, helping to identify the right drugs with the right mechanisms for the right patients, faster. You will also play a leadership role in the wider Molecular Sciences department, contributing to the strategic direction within CRH.

As our Senior Principal Scientist (SPS) Enzymology, you will be an inspirational scientist with an exceptional record of bringing your deep knowledge of enzymology and drug-target kinetics to impact on projects. You will be an experienced and passionate scientific leader, able to represent the department across a broad range of therapeutic projects and cross-site initiatives, both internally and externally.

You will contribute to, and lead, specific areas of scientific and technical innovation (including in novel modalities aligned to our strategic direction), incorporating external collaboration and partnership along with internal science builds. You will also lead drug discovery projects. Whilst this role will not manage any direct line-reports, a significant element will involve matrix leadership; you will also play a pivotal role in training and developing colleagues, including through your practical contributions from the bench.

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

What will I be doing?

• Provide deep expertise in mechanistic enzymology and its role in drug discovery.

• Provide scientific and strategic leadership for the Molecular Sciences department, and wider CRH, to drive innovation and portfolio success.

• Work at the intersection between mechanistic biology, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, structural biology & DMPK to define and prosecute strategies that deliver mechanistic insight across a range of challenging target classes, from initial target characterisation through to clinical dose prediction.

• Communicate effectively, to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites, and externally.

• Promote scientific excellence, through external publication, presentations, and membership of conference committees and Scientific Advisory Boards.

• Play a pivotal role in training and developing colleagues, including through practical contributions from the bench.

  
  

What skills and experience are we looking for?

• PhD in Enzymology, Pharmacology, or equivalent experience.

• Significant experience and deep expertise in mechanistic enzymology in a drug discovery environment.

• Proven track record of innovative scientific delivery through driving impactful mechanistic enzymology insight in drug discovery programmes, including detailed characterisation of multi-substrate enzyme mechanisms and drug mechanism-of-action.

• Significant experience in translating drug-target kinetics through to mechanistic PKPD modelling for therapeutic dose prediction.

• 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 mechanistic enzymology and drug discovery, evidenced through wide personal network, external presentation and publication in high-impact journals, and influential roles on relevant external committees.

• Significant experience in inspiring and developing a diverse world-class group, whilst working in a highly matrixed discovery project environment

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

  
  

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 review pay annually and aim to recognise individual performance and achievements.

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.

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.

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.