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 MÃlndal 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 MÃlndal, we collaborate with the
CNS/Pain (SÃdertÃlje & Montreal), Respiratory and Inflammation (MÃlndal)
and Cardiovascular (MÃlndal 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
Â
PhD degree with focus on
biophysics and/or enzymology
Â
Strong theoretical and
practical knowledge of the kinetics of ligand binding, and implications for
drug design
Â
5+ years post-PhD experience
with surface plasmon resonance, preferably in industrial setting
Â
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
Â
Strong track record in both SPR
assay development, and method development
Â
Demonstrated ability to drive
SPR in drug discovery projects, contributing to understanding of mode of action
of ligands
Beneficial experiences
Â
Hands-on experience with
optical waveguide grating techniques, including assay design
Â
Experience with fragment
screening and fragment exploitation using SPR and/or related methods
Â
Good understanding of and
experience of working with protein 3D structures
Â
A working knowledge of High
Throughput Screening methodologies and science
Â
Experience with high-throughput
data handling/analysis
Â
Experience with biochemical
assay development
More information
For more information about the position
please contact: Fredrik Edfeldt (team leader) at +46 (0)31 7761604.
Location: MÃlndal, 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.