Associate Principal Scientist - Surface Plasmon Resonance specialist
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. But we are more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we are proud to have a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. Here, employees are empowered to express diverse perspectives - and are made to feel valued, energized and rewarded for their ideas and creativity. The arena The Biophysics team in Mölndal is part of a larger DECS organisation (300+ people), which supports disease areas (iMeds) globally across the company. The common denominator for DECS is that skills and expertise are highly specialised or capital-demanding, and therefore are gathered in a centralised organisation. AstraZeneca is now significantly expanding its biophysics capability. >From Mölndal, we collaborate with the CNS/Pain (Södertälje & Montreal), >Respiratory and Inflammation (Mölndal) and Cardiovascular (Mölndal and UK) >iMeds. Within these project collaborations, the Biophysics team is responsible >for identification and/or characterisation of hit compounds, by studying >ligand-protein interactions using a wide variety of biophysical techniques >(focus is on NMR, SPR, and ITC). We have a strong history of matrix working, predominantly with protein engineering, crystallography and high-throughput screening (all within DECS) and synthetic and computational chemistry (located in the iMeds). The role The position will offer an opportunity for an innovative scientist, with high-end expertise in bio-optical techniques, to play an influential role in building up and shaping the biophysics capability within DECS. The expert knowledge in the area will be applied directly in drug discovery projects. For example, by developing biophysical assays used for fragment screening, or for HTS as orthogonal primary or secondary assays. While focus will be on hit generation projects, later stage applications such as residence time optimization, will also be important. Applications may either be in high-throughput studies (screening) or in more detailed analysis of a smaller number of ligands. The role will include representing the biophysics capability toward an iMed portfolio, where opportunities need to be recognized for a broader range of label-free techniques, aiming to maximize the impact of our biophysics resource, in driving enhanced quality of the lead-generation process. The ability to influence the direction of the lead-generation strategy will be important. Finally, from a scientific perspective, the role will include identifying and driving discipline improvements and innovations that advance lead discovery projects. This includes implementing new opportunities for existing bio-optical techniques within an HTS frame work. Minimum requirements · PhD degree with focus on biophysics and/or enzymology · Strong theoretical and practical knowledge of the kinetics of ligand binding, and implications for drug design · 5+ years post-PhD experience with surface plasmon resonance, preferably in industrial setting · Recognised expert in SPR area (within company, or internationally), with ability to define the strategic direction for the use of optical biosensors in lead generation projects · Strong track record in both SPR assay development, and method development · Demonstrated ability to drive SPR in drug discovery projects, contributing to understanding of mode of action of ligands Beneficial experiences · Hands-on experience with optical waveguide grating techniques, including assay design · Experience with fragment screening and fragment exploitation using SPR and/or related methods · Good understanding of and experience of working with protein 3D structures · A working knowledge of High Throughput Screening methodologies and science · Experience with high-throughput data handling/analysis · Experience with biochemical assay development More information For more information about the position please contact: Fredrik Edfeldt (team leader) at +46 (0)31 7761604. Department: Structure, Biophysics & Computational Science, DECS. Location: Mölndal, Sweden. We welcome your application no later than 31 January 2011. Interviews will be conducted in February. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Confidentiality Notice: This message is private and may contain confidential and proprietary information. If you have received this message in error, please notify us and remove it from your system and note that you must not copy, distribute or take any action in reliance on it. Any unauthorized use or disclosure of the contents of this message is not permitted and may be unlawful.
