Senior Laboratory Research Scientist

Senior Laboratory Research Scientist (SLRS) – Crystallography/Drug Discovery

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.
To learn more about the Crick, click here.

About the role

This exciting research project is a cross-Francis Crick Institute collaboration focussing on the translation of cutting-edge research led by Dr. Simon Boulton and carried out in the Double Strand Break (DSB) Metabolism Laboratory. Researchers in the DSB Metabolism Laboratory have identified several cellular processes that contribute to the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanism of telomere maintenance present in a sub set cancers (ALT positive cancers).. This collaboration aims to translate the new ALT biology insights from the DSB Metabolism Laboratory into therapies to treat ALT positive cancers.

What you will be doing

We are looking for a creative and highly motivated structural biologist with a strong background in crystallography and drug discovery to support early-stage drug discovery/probe development on ALT project.
You will work within the Structural Biology Science Technology Platform (SB STP) which spans a variety of protein technologies (protein expression and purification), biophysics, X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM.

As a Senior Laboratory Research Scientist at the Crick, you will:
• Enable robust purification protocols of high purity, homogeneous recombinant protein samples for structural biology, biophysics and bioassay studies.
• Determine crystal structures of target protein bound to fragments/compounds.
• Train and supervise junior team members or students.
• Be responsible for maintenance of significant up-to-date knowledge of relevant literature, communication of key developments to other lab members and the institute, implementation of new techniques to own research.

About you
You will bring
• PhD in structural biology with post-doctoral (or equivalent) experience.
• Extensive experience in molecular cloning, recombinant protein expression and automated purification using ĀKTA workstations and a range of chromatographic techniques.
• Expertise in a suite of biophysical quality control methods to ensure crystallography grade protein preparations.
• Extensive experience in protein X-ray crystallography techniques, including initial crystallisation and optimisation (using robots such as Mosquito, NT8), data collection, structure determination and structure refinement

See the full job description

About Working at the Crick
Our values
• We are bold. We make space for creative, dynamic and imaginative ideas and approaches. We’re not afraid to do things differently.
• We are open. We’re highly collaborative and interactive, and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world.
• We are collegial. We show respect for one another, work cooperatively and support the wider community.
At the Crick, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery. If you need assistance with your application, please contact [email protected]
To read more about our EDI approach, click here.

What will you receive?
We value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development. You can find out more about what we offer here.