At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage high-quality sample management for discovery research, focusing on compounds and biological samples.
- Company: Join Cancer Research UK at the Babraham Research Campus in a collaborative lab environment.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, generous benefits, and opportunities for personal development.
- Other info: Flexible working options available; excellent career growth potential.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in drug discovery while working with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: Degree in life sciences or relevant experience; expertise in drug discovery and sample management required.
The predicted salary is between 41700 - 51300 £ per year.
£41,700-£51,300 (dependent on experience) Plus Benefits
Reports to: Principal Scientist, Mechanistic Pharmacology
Directorate: Research and Innovation
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week (flexible working requests considered if they meet business needs)
Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge – Lab based with low‑flex (minimum of 3 days per week on site)
Closing date: Tuesday 21st July 23:55pm
Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK may consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If you require sponsorship, please mark this clearly on your application.
Overview
The Senior Scientist – Sample Management will manage the delivery of high‑quality sample management to support discovery research activities. Responsibilities include the effective storage, handling, tracking, and dispensing of compounds and biological samples, with a focus on small molecules and antibodies. The role drives best practice, continuous improvement, and the adoption of new technologies and automation across multiple sites.
Responsibilities
- Drive continuous improvement of sample management practices, ensuring state‑of‑the‑art standards in compound and biological handling and dispensing.
- Prioritise sample requests in line with project priorities and assign work to team members.
- Receive and solubilise new compounds; assess their purity by LC‑MS.
- Prepare and supply assay‑ready plates with ECHO instrumentation to support structure‑activity studies and high‑throughput screening across multiple sites.
- Prepare and supply bespoke compound requests to support non‑routine activities across active projects.
- Troubleshoot issues and respond to queries in a timely manner.
- Maintain the Mosaic sample management system, driving continuous improvement.
- Liaise with CROs to manage off‑site storage of compound libraries.
- Collaborate within the Molecular Sciences team, internal multi‑disciplinary research teams, and with external partners.
Qualifications
- HNC, HND or degree in chemistry, biochemistry, life sciences; relevant experience may substitute for education.
- Significant experience in a drug discovery environment managing and dispensing small molecules and biotherapeutics.
- Detailed understanding of storage processes for compounds and biologicals (storage issues, freeze‑thaw cycles, degradation, solvent usage).
- Experience in liquid handling and automated dispensing, such as ECHO and Access platforms.
- Experience with LIMS, databases and screening data management software, such as Mosaic and Dotmatics.
- Collaborative mindset, excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and flexibility.
Benefits
A generous benefits package, wide range of career and personal development opportunities, and high‑quality tools are provided to support wellbeing and a healthy work‑life balance.
