Senior Research Scientist – Therapeutic Genome Editing-Gene Therapy

At AstraZeneca we use scientific excellence as our foundation for driving success in our drug discovery pipeline. We underpin this with strong collaboration, clear direction and a focus on applying cutting-edge research to support drug discovery.
An exciting opportunity is now available to join the Precise Genome Editing team within Discovery Sciences, which has responsibility for the generation of novel genome editing technologies to support projects in all phases of the drug discovery pipeline. We have a focus on target identification, target validation, disease model generation and the therapeutic use of stem cells. We are seeking a scientist to join our team in Gothenburg Sweden, where the role will focus on developing gene editing strategies for potential therapeutic use,.


THE ROLE
LEVERAGING YOUR STRONG KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN GENOME EDITING YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO GENE THERAPY PROJECTS. THIS INCLUDES DESIGN OF GENOME EDITING STRATEGIES, IMPLEMENT THEM USING TECHNIQUES INCLUDING CRISPR/CAS9 AND VALIDATE THE RESULTS. THE ROLE IS FOCUSED ON CONDUCTING LABORATORY-BASED ACTIVITIES, APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO DRIVE PROJECT DELIVERY AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION, PARTICIPATING ACTIVELY IN PROBLEM SOLVING AND WORKING GLOBALLY WITH ASTRAZENECA COLLEAGUES AND COLLABORATORS.

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE GOOD SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS, BE COLLABORATIVE AND A STRONG TEAM PLAYER AND BE AN INNOVATIVE THINKER. CANDIDATES SHOULD BE ABLE TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY, TAKE OWN INITIATIVES AND HAVE A POSITIVE, GOAL ORIENTED AND PROBLEM-SOLVING ATTITUDE. GOOD ORGANISATIONAL, DATA MANAGEMENT AND DOCUMENTATION SKILLS ARE REQUIRED, AND YOU SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE IN PRESENTING YOUR RESULTS. ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS REQUIRED, BOTH SPOKEN AND IN WRITING.

TASKS
• TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP GENOME EDITING-BASED STRATEGIES AND TOOLS REQUIRED TO GENERATE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO MODELS
• TO IMPLEMENT DELIVERY TOOLS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF GENOME EDITING
• TO PERFORM CONFIRMATION OF GENETIC MANIPULATION AND FUNCTIONAL VALIDATION OF ENGINEERED MODELS
• TO DEVELOP NOVEL ENGINEERING TOOLS BASED ON CRISPR/CAS9, BASE/PRIME EDITORS

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE JOB:
• STRONG KNOWLEDGE AND HANDS ON EXPERIENCE WITH GENOME EDITING TOOLS (INCLUDING BASE OR PRIME EDITORS)
• EXPERTISE WITH CRISPR BASED MANIPULATION OF CELL LINES AND/OR STEM CELLS
• EXPERTISE WITH NGS ANALYSIS OF GENOME EDITING OUTCOMES (AMPLICON SEQ, GUIDE-SEQ, CIRCLE-SEQ, DISCOVER-SEQ)

THE FOLLOWING SKILLS ARE HIGHLY DESIRABLE BUT NOT ESSENTIAL
• BASIC PROGRAMMING SKILLS WITH THE ABILITY TO USE AND DEVELOP IN SILICO GENETIC ANALYSIS TOOL

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE
You should hold a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology or a related degree or have significant relevant experience working in a precise genome editing/molecular biology environment.