Job Description
PIONEERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ONCOLOGY MEDICINES
A new precision oncology biotech based in Oxford with an exciting portfolio of next-generation small molecule programs exploiting cancers vulnerabilities and dependencies.
We are opening a target validation and translational biology lab and recruiting a team of oncology cell biologists who share our vision for discovering a new generation of cancer drugs.
If you have a passion to apply your science to the discovery of transformational cancer medicines and have outstanding skills in cancer cell biology, contact us to discuss exciting career opportunities at Dark Blue Therapeutics.
LOCATION: Oxford, UK
SALARY: Competitive salary and benefits package, relative to qualifications and experience.
About Dark Blue Therapeutics
At Dark Blue Therapeutics we leverage ground-breaking cancer biology insights to identify and exploit cancers vulnerabilities and dependencies. We have multiple projects in drug discovery targeting first and best-in-class drugs with a clear line of sight to transformational medicines in molecularly defined patient populations. Our approach exploits a deep translational understanding of target biology coupled with industry leading structurally-enabled medicinal chemistry. We believe the challenges of cancer drug discovery require a fully committed collaborative approach to succeed and we partner with world leading academics in Oxford and beyond to leverage deep target, mechanistic and disease insights.
Position Summary
As a Cancer Cell Biologist at Dark Blue Therapeutics, you will play a key role in the design and delivery of experimental work to generate target validation, mechanism of action and translational biology data needed to support the therapeutic hypothesis and develop clear line of sight to the clinic. This will involve functional genomics approaches as well as profiling of our proprietary small molecules. The role will provide the opportunity to work in a vibrant biotech environment, gaining direct experience of working on drug discovery programs with experienced industry leaders within Dark Blue Therapeutics, as well as regular interactions with the world-leading academic scientists we work with. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing company and shape the future direction of how we deliver precision medicines for cancer patients.
Roles and responsibilities include:
- Design and execute experimental strategies to deliver critical decision-making data to test hypothesis and build strong target validation packages with a clear line of sight to the clinic.
- Hands-on execution of state-of the-art molecular and cell biology experiments, for example functional genomics (siRNA/CRISPR approaches), and profiling of proprietary and reference small molecules.
- Multiple endpoint assays include cell phenotype assays (e.g. cancer cell viability, apoptosis, colony formation), functional and morphological readouts (e.g. cellular high content imaging, flow cytometry), signaling pathway analysis (e.g. Western blotting, ELISA) and transcriptional regulation (e.g. qPCR).
- Robust and rigorous experimental protocol development.
- Effective data capture, analysis, and integration, along with data interpretation.
- Close interactions with academic scientists to develop and execute experimental plans.
- Work effectively with scientists from contract research organisations (CROs).
- Contribute to drug discovery projects within multidisciplinary teams.
Essential requirements:
- PhD level and/or postdoc in biological sciences or a related discipline.
- Broad and deep knowledge of cancer biology.
- Experimental hands-on expertise in contemporary cell and molecular biology techniques.
- Strong scientific credentials as evidenced by publications, patents and presentations.
- Good oral and written communication skills, able to present concepts and projects in a clear,
scientifically sound, data-driven objective manner.
- Strong individual contributor, with resilience and team working skills.
- A flexible approach to work with a can-do attitude that aligns with a fast-paced biotech culture.
Experience in the following areas is preferred but not essential:
- Hands-on-experience in target validation, mechanistic and translational biology studies.
- Working with small molecule compounds and in vitro pharmacology.
- Working with bioinformatics approaches for analysis of target and pathway biology and mining of public domain data (e.g. DepMap) would be advantageous.
Job Type: Full-time
Schedule:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Oxford, OX4 4GB