Postdoc Fellow - The Mechanism of Direct Protein Degraders

Interested in an industrial Postdoc? Don't miss this role at AstraZeneca!



About the Opportunity:

In this key Postdoc, we're looking for a scientist to employ state of the art structural, biophysical and cell biology approaches to obtain a mechanistic and structural understanding of drug-induced mechanisms for direct protein degradation. In addition, the Postdoc will aid the fundamental understanding on how oligomerisation and structural flexibility is impacting on the ability to directly induce protein degradation. They will also develop novel approaches for directed protein degradation that extend those of proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) by working in close collaboration with chemists, structural biologists and the academic supervisor Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, at the MRC, UK, a highly-respected leader in the field. Having the additional support of a leading academic advisor will provide you with the guidance and knowledge how to further develop your career. Directed protein degradation is an emerging drug discovery paradigm that hasn't been explored to its full potential, making this an opportunity to make a real difference to the future of medical science.



In this challenging role you'll be expected to:

* Independently plan and conduct experiments to monitor drug mode of action by bridging biophysical and structural approaches with cellular degradation data for the target of interest

* Use the data to pinpoint parameters of special importance for enhancing and optimising drug-induced degradation efficiency



Essential Education and Experience:

* PhD in biochemistry, biophysics, biology or related discipline

* Demonstrated expertise in generating and characterising isolated protein systems using a range of biochemical, biophysical and/or cellular assays

* Excellent track record of publications in reputable scientific journals as well as conference presentations



Desirable Qualifications:

* Practical experience in biophysical techniques, such as SPR, ITC and/or HDX-MS for monitoring rotein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions

* Demonstrated knowledge in running cell assays for monitoring protein degradation (Western blot, Immunofluroscence, AlphaLisa, HiBit or similar)

* Experience with cellular imaging techniques

* Understanding of E3 ligases and the functional effects of ubiquitination



About the Team:

The Global Structure & Biophysics team provides pre-clinical support from early target identification activities up to the characterization of candidate drugs. The purpose of the team is to provide high-resolution mechanistic, kinetic and structural information on molecular interactions to inform the generation of improved compounds using a suite of state-of-the-art biophysical tools. You will work with some of the most knowledgeable technological experts in the industry, all collaborating on high-profile drug discovery projects.



This is a 3-year programme. 2 years will be a Fixed Term Contract, with a 1 year extension which will be merit based. The role will be based in Click here to enter text., with a competitive salary on offer



Advert opening date - March 12, 2020

Advert closing date - May 17, 2020



About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we're 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.