Postdoctoral Research Associate - Chemical Biologist (gsk)

Job Description

(3-year fixed term appointment)

This is an exciting post-doctoral opportunity to carry out collaborative research with one of the world’s leading research institutes and one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies as a member of the Crick–GSK Prosperity Partnership team.

Together, GSK and the Francis Crick Institute are developing a Systems Chemical Biology platform to enable simultaneous identification of disease-associated proteins and functional chemical probes. (https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2021-04-02_francis-crick-institute-and-gsk-to-pioneer-reactive-fragment-screening-in-drug-discovery) We seek a talented, highly motivated chemical biologist with a strong interest in applying synthetic chemistry and chemoproteomics approaches to solve biological problems.

You will join a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team working to combine chemoproteomics, reactive fragments and high-content screening in disease relevant biological systems. The role will involve collaboration with multiple groups at the Crick Institute including the Molecular Structure of Cell Signalling Laboratory led by Katrin Rittinger, the Proteomics Platform Technology group led by Mark Skehel, and the Double Strand Break (DSB) Repair Laboratory led by Simon Boulton. The project will require periods of work between GSK’s research site in Stevenage, UK and the Crick Institute, London.

(https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2019-02-08_benefits-of-moving-in-together ).

Reactive fragments have proven a useful strategy for the generation of chemical tools. Developments in the throughput of MS-proteomics now offer the opportunity to screen libraries of fragments directly in live cells to identify fragment-protein interactions across the proteome. This project will focus on the design, synthesis, and implementation of reactive fragment libraries in high-throughput chemoproteomics and cell-based phenotypic screens to identify novel, tractable, disease-modifying protein targets. Hit fragments will be further elaborated towards selective chemical probes for therapeutically relevant protein targets of interest.

You will be responsible for i) driving the development of new reactive fragment libraries and ii) leading exploratory chemistry for chemical probes. You will also have opportunities to interface with the proteomics and phenotypic screening teams to expand the ligandable proteome and generate insights into disease biology. You will be expected to lead your own multi-faceted projects in an integrated collaborative setting with the Crick-GSK Prosperity Partnership team, including proteomics scientists, chemists, biologists, and machine learning engineers.

By joining us for your post-doctoral training, you will be prepared for a career in industry or academia, while being exposed to cutting-edge biomedical research in both environments. GSK is one of the world’s leading biopharma companies with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. The Crick Institute is a multi-disciplinary research institute which conducts ground-breaking biomedical research to understand why disease develops and to find new ways to treat different illnesses.

This position is for a laboratory-based chemical biologist with synthetic chemistry experience and a strong interest in applying chemical biology approaches to solve biological problems.

You can expect an excellent training in synthetic and medicinal chemistry, chemical biology as well as the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from GSK and Crick experts working in other disciplines, particularly proteomics, computational chemistry and biology, structural biology, cell biology and biochemistry.

In this role you will

• Drive the design and synthesis of reactive fragment libraries and explore new reactive electrophiles to expand biological coverage.
• Use cellular phenotypic data to explore SAR and deliver covalent chemical probes through iterative design-make-test cycles and implementation of high-throughput chemistry, working with GSK Chemists and utilising Crick chemistry capabilities.
• Work alongside proteomics researchers to profile reactive fragment libraries in cells to identify fragment-protein interactions across the proteome.
• Contribute to the strategy for the Systems Chemical Biology Platform being developed within the GSK-Crick Prosperity partnership, in particular with respect to the deployment of reactive fragment libraries and interpretation of MS-chemoproteomics to guide library design and deconvolution of phenotypic screens.
• Work closely with Crick and GSK researchers (e.g. chemistry, high-content screening, biology, data and machine learning) to guide experimental design and drive the interpretation of outcomes.
• Analyse, assimilate, and communicate complex scientific data clearly and concisely to members of the team and the broader scientific community.

Why you?

Basic Qualifications & Skills:

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• First class or 2:1 degree in chemistry.
• Completion of a PhD in the field of synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or chemical biology.
• An excellent knowledge of synthetic chemistry and its application in drug discovery.
• Knowledge of contemporary chemical biology techniques in relation to small molecule drug discovery, including with respect to target identification, validation, tractability and engagement.
• A track record of high productivity working across chemistry-biology interface, supported by publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience of effective collaborative working in an interdisciplinary setting.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

Please note that the following skills are not essential but are desirable. Any skills gaps in this section should not deter you from applying:

• Knowledge of medicinal chemistry approaches including structure-based drug design.
• Knowledge of mass spectrometry and proteomic workflows.
• Familiarity with parallel synthesis / high-throughput chemistry.

We create a place where people can grow, be their best, be safe, and feel welcome, valued and included.

We offer a competitive salary, an annual bonus based on company performance, healthcare and wellbeing programmes, pension plan membership, and shares and savings programme.

Discover more about our company wide benefits and life at GSK on our webpage Life at GSK | GSK

Closing Date for Applications – 7th March 2024 (COB)

Please take a copy of the Job Description, as this will not be available post closure of the advert. 
When applying for this role, please use the ‘cover letter’ of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application.

Why Us?

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organization where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of 2030.

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and thrive as set out in our Equal and Inclusive Treatment of Employees policy. We’re committed to being more proactive at all levels so that our workforce reflects the communities we work and hire in, and our GSK leadership reflects our GSK workforce.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are open to all talent. In the US, we also adhere to Affirmative Action principles. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to neurodiversity, race/ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, gender, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability, genetic information, military service, covered/protected veteran status or any other federal, state or local protected class*(*US only).

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on Ukdiversity.recruitment@gsk.com or 0808 234 4391. 

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