Senior Research Investigator (In-vitro Pharmacology), London

Isomorphic Labs is applying frontier AI to help unlock deeper scientific insights, faster breakthroughs, and life-changing medicines with an ambition to solve all disease. The future is coming. A future enabled and enriched by the incredible power of machine learning. A future in which diseases are curtailed or cured starting with better and faster drug discovery. Come and be part of an interdisciplinary team driving groundbreaking innovation and play a meaningful role in contributing towards us achieving our ambitious goals, while being a part of an inspiring and collaborative culture.

About Iso

Isomorphic Labs (IsoLabs) was launched in 2021 to advance human health by building on and beyond the Nobel-winning AlphaFold system. Since then, our interdisciplinary team of drug discovery experts and machine learning specialists has built powerful new predictive and generative AI models that accelerate scientific discovery at digital speed. Our name comes from the belief that there is an underlying symmetry between biology and information science. By harnessing AI’s powerful capabilities, we can use it to model complex biological phenomena to help design novel molecules, anticipate how drugs will perform and develop innovative medicines to treat and cure some of the world’s most devastating diseases. We have built a world-leading drug design engine comprising AI models that are capable of working across multiple therapeutic areas and drug modalities. We are continually innovating on model architecture and developing cutting-edge capabilities to advance rational drug design.

Your impact

Isomorphic Labs is seeking an exceptional individual to join an impactful in-vitro pharmacology sub team within our translational science team, working in multidisciplinary ML-based drug discovery medical research. These roles would be ideal for an experienced in-vitro pharmacologist with significant working knowledge of biophysical, biochemical and/or cell-based functional assays who have extensive experience of providing quantitative in-vitro pharmacology expertise within drug discovery projects. This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with world leading AI, ML and drug discovery experts to develop imaginative new ways to test biological hypotheses, building a deep mechanistic understanding of drug target interactions to drive our projects forward. You will play a key role in defining the screening cascades for our drug design projects, advancing our oncology, immunology and partnership portfolios from early drug discovery through to candidate selection and ultimately to clinical phase work.

What you will do

• Provide technical expertise and leadership on the utilisation of biophysical assay technologies.
• Design efficient and comprehensive biological screening cascades for a variety of internal and partnered drug discovery programs.
• Partner with CROs to design decision-making experiments and deliver the highest quality biological data to inform the path to the clinic.
• Pioneer innovative ways of working within the biophysical space by assessing and implementing next-gen biophysical approaches and technologies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Drug Design and Technology teams.

Skills and qualifications

Essential:

• BSc, MSc or PhD in a relevant field of biology.
• Extensive experience in designing and implementing biological screening cascades applied to drug discovery projects, from hit identification through to candidate selection.
• Deep knowledge of experimental biophysical assay technologies and their effective utilisation within screening cascades.
• Proficiency in SPR (or similar techniques such as GCI or BLI) is essential, while experience with other techniques (ITC, MST, DSF/TSA, ligand/protein NMR, MS, and structural biology methods) is highly advantageous.
• Experience with broader experimental in vitro pharmacology, including biochemical and cellular assays.
• Experience managing external CROs to acquire and interpret high-quality biological data in a timely manner.
• Experience in project leadership or leading biology within drug discovery programs, ideally from inception to clinical candidate delivery.
• Dynamic, agile, and flexible professional capable of working across multiple projects, therapeutic areas, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Exceptional communication skills, with a track record of effective collaboration across interdisciplinary teams and key stakeholders from diverse technical backgrounds.

Nice to have:

• Proven track record in project leadership or leading biology strategy within drug discovery programs, ideally from inception to clinical candidate delivery.
• Experience working with Data Science teams to establish systems for the ingestion of biological data.
• Proven track record of contributing to drug discovery projects that have delivered clinical candidates.
• Working knowledge of designing and implementing assays and screening cascades for alternative modalities or chemistries (e.g., peptides or molecular glues).
• General understanding of machine learning modelling applied to biological systems and drug discovery.
• Experience in target identification, validation, and selection approaches.

Culture and values

We are guided by our shared values. It's not about finding people who think and act in the same way. These values help to guide our work and will continue to strengthen it.

• Thoughtful: Thoughtful at Iso is about curiosity, creativity and care. It is about good people doing good, rigorous and future-making science every single day.
• Brave: Brave at Iso is about fearlessness, but it’s also about initiative and integrity. The scale of the challenge demands nothing less.
• Determined: Determined at Iso is the way we pursue our goal. It’s a confidence in our hypothesis, as well as the urgency and agility needed to deliver on it. Because disease won’t wait, so neither should we.
• Together: Together at Iso is about connection, collaboration across fields and catalytic relationships. It’s knowing that transformation is a group project, and remembering that what we’re doing will have a real impact on real people everywhere.

Creating an extraordinary company

We believe that to be successful we need a team with a range of skills and talents. We're building an environment where collaboration is fundamental, learning is shared and every employee feels supported and able to thrive. We value unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, and perspectives, and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact. We are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Hybrid working

It’s hugely important for us to share knowledge and build strong relationships with each other, and we find it easier to do this if we spend time together in person. This is why we follow a hybrid model, and would require you to be able to come into the office 3 days a week (currently Tuesday, Wednesday, and one other day depending on which team you’re in). If you have additional needs that would prevent you from following this hybrid approach, we’d be happy to talk through these if you’re selected for an initial screening call.

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