Senior Laboratory Research Scientist

Senior Laboratory Research Scientist - Chemical Biology STP

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 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 seeking an ambitious and creative cellular assay biologist, with small molecule discovery experience, to join the Chemical Biology STP at the Francis Crick Institute.

As a Senior Laboratory Research Scientist at the Crick, you will:
• Have a responsibility for assay development, screening and mechanistic studies for one of the protein targets of interest.
• Develop, optimise and routinely use cellular mechanistic assays, such as NanoBRET to elucidate cell target engagement and intracellular residence time.
• Optimise and implement biochemical (FP, TR-FRET, FLINT, Alpha) and biophysical (SPR, DSF, Nanotemper) assays to identify and optimise hits to generate high quality ALT tool compounds.
• Establish new capability and technologies to enable novel insights into the ALT targets.

See the full job description

About you
The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values: Bold, Open, and Collegial, in addition to the following:

Essential:

• PhD (or equivalent experience level) in a relevant discipline such as cell or molecular biology, biochemistry or chemical biology,
• A strong track record of developing and carrying out innovative assay solutions to address chemical biology or medicinal chemistry questions in academic or industrial research, ideally supported by publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Practical experience of mammalian cell culture techniques for the development of recombinant cellular assays.
• Experience and knowledge of cellular target engagement technologies such as NanoBRET.

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.