We have an opportunity for a talented and motivated Postdoctoral Training Fellow to join the Division of Cancer Therapeutics. The team has a role to accelerate the translation of ICR research into drug discovery programmes. The team delivers bespoke, hypothesis-driven data packages to support decision-making for launch of drug discovery projects. The teams dedicated resources, including biology, functional genomics, assay sciences, chemistry, and bioinformatics teams, will support joint project teams that combine the deep biological and therapeutic knowledge of ICR investigators with the validation and technical expertise of drug discovery scientists. Scientists in the team work closely with the Centre for Target Validation to validate and streamline robust, targets into drug discovery programmes in the ICR’s Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery or into collaborative programmes with external commercial therapy discovery partners. Also, working with the Centre for Protein Degradation Scientists exploit emerging technology and protein degradation tools for robust target validation experiments.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of new drug targets by expanding our understanding of target biology and drug discovery. Working in close collaboration with other groups within the ICR, the candidate will develop our understanding of the therapeutic relevance of specific targets using genetic and pharmacologic approaches.
The successful candidate will be a part of a highly collaborative team that is embedded in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery. They will have the opportunity to direct their own research towards target identification, validation and drug discovery.
About you
Applicants must have a PhD in cell biology, cancer biology, genetics, or similar. Experience in drug discovery and modern cell and molecular biology techniques is essential. Experience with -omics level profiling and handling of large datasets is desired. Excellent organisational and communication skills are also required.
Candidates who are nearing completion of their PhD may apply, but confirmation on awarded PhD is required within 6 months of employment.
The ICR has a workforce agreement stating that Postdoctoral Training Fellows can only be employed for up to 7 years as PDTF at the ICR, providing total postdoctoral experience (including previous employment at this level elsewhere) does not exceed 7 years.
For general information on Postdocs at The ICR, more information can be found here.
Department/Directorate Information
About our organisation
We are one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. We are world leaders in identifying cancer genes, discovering cancer drugs and developing precision radiotherapy. Together with our hospital partner The Royal Marsden, we are rated in the top four centres for cancer research and treatment worldwide. As well as being a world-class institute, we are a college of the University of London. We came top in the league table of university research quality compiled from the Research Excellence Framework in 2014 and second in 2021. We have charitable status and rely on support from partner organisations, charities, donors and the general public. We have more than 1000 staff and postgraduate students across three sites – in Chelsea and Sutton.
About our Centre
The Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery (CCDD), within the Division of Cancer Therapeutics, is a multidisciplinary 'bench to bedside' centre, comprising around 160 staff dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The CCDD’s exciting goal is to discover high quality drug candidates for validated biological targets and to progress these candidates to clinical trial. All the scientific disciplines are in place to make this possible. Our world-class biologists, chemists and drug metabolism specialists work together focusing on new molecular targets emerging from human genome and ground-breaking cell biology research. This is an exciting and fast-moving area of cancer research and offers the opportunity to work within a multi-disciplinary environment using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment.
Group information
Our group focus is to build robust target validation data packages against potential cancer targets identified by the ICR's researchers across Divisions. This is to increase confidence in the launch of drug discovery projects against those targets.
Our scientists collaborate with ICR researchers to expand on the target biology validation and build a strong therapeutic hypothesis for a target. Tractability of targets is assessed and the most appropriate therapeutic mode of action for a target will be defined. Research at the Centre for Target Validation is focused on applying best practice in target validation and implementing innovative technology to robustly validate targets for drug discovery.
Scientists in the CTV will form collaborations with ICR researchers who have identified potential therapeutic targets to:
Provide access to resources and core facilities to answer hypothesis-testing questions
Generate the key decision-making data required for target to enter drug discovery
The Centre for Target Validation therefore links the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery within the Division of Cancer Therapeutics with partner Divisions that identify potential drug targets. The Centre is also in collaboration with the Division of Breast Cancer Research to validate targets relevant in breast cancer in the context of the Breast Cancer Now (BCN) Toby Robins Research Centre.
The CTV is supported and funded by the ICR as part of the ICR research strategy: Defeating Cancer to transform the lives of cancer patients.
What we offer
- A dynamic and supportive research environment
- Access to state-of-the-art facilities and professional development opportunities
- Collaboration with leading researchers in the field
- Competitive salary and pension
We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Joanna Loizou via [email protected].