Associate Principal Scientist In Vitro Cardiovascular Biology

Would you like to apply your expertise in a global company that is accelerating innovative science and turn ideas into life changing medicines? Join us to discover future treatment of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic diseases!

At AstraZeneca, we work at the cutting edge of science to develop the ground-breaking medicines of the future - here we do things that have never been done before. We put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide.

We are now recruiting an Associate Principal Scientist with deep knowledge in cardiovascular disease to join the Bioscience Cardiovascular in vitro team within the Early Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (ECVRM) therapeutic area at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg, Sweden.

CVRM is one of three main therapeutic research areas within AstraZeneca. Early CVRM has a patient-centric approach for discovering novel treatments for patients with cardiovascular-, chronic kidney- and metabolic disease and delivers candidate drugs into late-stage clinical development. In the Bioscience Cardiovascular department, we focus on identifying and validating new drug targets for treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease and heart failure, as well as evaluating pharmacological aspects, e.g. efficacy and mechanism of action, of potential new drug candidates. The in vitro team delivers key data to projects across all phases of the drug discovery and development process, and we work with different modalities such as small molecules, modified mRNA, antibodies, cell therapy, antisense oligonucleotides and peptides.

We continually push the boundaries of science to deliver medicines that treat diseases across our main therapy areas. Through our integration with Alexion, this now includes expanding the limits of scientific research to better understand rare diseases and to discover new life-changing treatments for them.

What you'll do

As an Associate Principal Scientist you will act as an expert in cardiomyocyte biology and initiate and plan in vitro and in vivo model generation (engineered PSC and humanized mice). You will independently identify and explore novel drug targets and support existing projects with scientific input and deliver key in vitro and ex vivo data. You will work with pluripotent stem cells (PSC) and primary cardiovascular cells along with molecular biology techniques and identify relevant in vitro cell types for screening and initiate lab work to show suitability. You will also support in the in vitro lab when needed. You will play a key role in driving science and projects forward and will have the opportunity to explore novel techniques and ideas required for progressing existing portfolio and novel science. Collaboration is critical for successful delivery of drug projects and you will work closely with scientists/teams from a wide range of different functions within AstraZeneca as well as with external partners and collaborators. Responsibilities include:

* Independently design, develop and execute in vitro and ex vivo assays for projects from target identification to clinical stage
* Communicate data to the project teams, department, science board and at external meetings
* Encourage, support, and directly contribute to communications of scientific findings through publications and presentations in world class scientific journals and meetings
* Prepare the preclinical pharmacology part of regulatory documents as appropriate

Essential for the role

* PhD or equivalent and strong scientific background and publication track record in any of the following fields: cardiovascular disease, cardiomyocyte biology, heart failure or cardiac stem cell biology
* Very strong experience with cardiomyocyte biology and function in healthy and diseased systems
* Extensive experience in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and relevant in vitro/ex vivo assays within the cardiovascular area
* Good collaboration skills
* Strong oral and written communication skills
* Excellent English, both spoken and in writing

Desirable for the role

* Postdoc experience in a relevant field
* Expertise in genetic cardiomyopathies
* Experience of working with Antisense oligonucleotide (ASOs) and/or Adeno-associated viruses (AAV)
* Background in drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry
* Experience in handling and manipulating relevant PSC and primary human and animal cardiac cell types, including cardiomyocytes

So, what's next?

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can't wait to hear from you!

For more information about the position please contact Erik Ryberg at erik.ryberg@astrazeneca.com

Welcome with your application no later than February 28, 2022

Where can I find out more?

Our Gothenburg site: Link

Global Gothenburg: Link

Life in Gothenburg: Link

Why AstraZeneca?

Our Gothenburg site is one of AstraZeneca's three strategic R&D centers. With more than 2,400 employees from over than 50 countries, our vibrant Gothenburg site is a truly inspiring place to work. Here, the history and future of scientific breakthrough come together. We believe that the diversity of our people is crucial to bringing new discoveries to life.