Senior Research Associate, Discovery, Frontier Biology

At Astellas, we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed. We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions. We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage. Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division. We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes. Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.

The primary focus of this role is to deliver high-quality bench research and to design and execute in vitro and/or in vivo assays that directly support our drug discovery programmes. You will work closely with the broader team to drive program goals forward, maintaining clear and ongoing communication with both internal and external stakeholders. The role also involves planning and conducting in vitro and in vivo studies to generate critical data aligned with key program milestones. In addition, you will be responsible for the development, execution, and evaluation of in vitro and in vivo study designs to ensure robust, meaningful outcomes.

At Astellas, we recognise the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimise the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

This position directly impacts our ability to prosecute company goals of maintaining an early-stage pipeline of potential drug candidates. Measures of success include advancing new targets through successive stages of the drug discovery pipeline, with core components including:

• Efficiently and competently executing laboratory work designed to advance early-stage projects.
• Being accountable for the timeliness and quality of individual scientific workload.
• Being accountable for ensuring the integrity of data being generated for scientific projects.
• Keeping behavioural guidelines in mind while acting as a role model for responsibly adhering to team policies, procedures, and guidelines for conducting work.
• Accurately interpreting experimental data, performing statistical analyses, formulating conclusions, and communicating findings with colleagues.
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of experimental data.
• Presenting data at regular internal meetings.
• Reporting to the manager and program lead.

Essential Knowledge & Experience:

• Solid experience required in drug discovery.
• Proficiency in cell handling and tissue culture techniques.
• Background in oncology drug discovery research, including DNA, RNA, and protein-related methodologies.
• Competence in designing, developing, and executing a wide range of in vitro assays and/or in vivo animal models.
• Demonstrated experience in assay development, particularly for novel entities or targets.
• Skilled in in vivo tissue processing and biological sample analysis.
• In-depth understanding of pharmacology, particularly in non-clinical drug discovery research settings.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Strong organisational, time management, and problem-solving skills with scientific attention to detail.
• Able to work productively and to participate in a highly creative and fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Knowledge & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree (BS), Master’s degree (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in a relevant scientific field that provides knowledge of theories, principles and concepts within biological sciences or equivalent.
• Knowledge of drug discovery processes coupled with relevant industry experience, particularly in a pharmaceutical or biotech company setting.
• Drug discovery experience in multiple disease areas, such as oncology and immunology.
• Experience with molecular biology techniques and/or in vivo disease models.
• Experience in the development and validation of non-clinical pharmacological models.
• Candidates with experience in antibody research, synthetic biology, or protein engineering will be a plus.
• Ability to process and interpret complex datasets and provide actionable insights.

This is a permanent full-time field-based role based in the UK. This position follows our hybrid working model. The role requires a blend of home and a minimum of 4 days a week in the office in our Cambridge office. Flexibility may be required in line with business needs. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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