Protein Scientist

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated protein biochemist who will be duelled-skilled in cell culture to join our dynamic team. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge drug discovery projects, where the quality control of protein reagents for performing antibody immunisations, candidate screening and biophysical profiling of drug leads is critical.

What you'll do:
You will help establish and shape this new internal capability, specifically with respect to producing recombinant proteins in-house. You will have operational responsibility for an AKTA FPLC, as well as maintaining suspension/transient mammalian cell lines and/or performing relevant protein QC.

You will be agile and support drug screening and validation experiments. This could further involve performing drug discovery screening assays using recombinant proteins (e.g. ELISAs) and/or cell-based assays to determine the functional relevance of proteins (e.g. using over-expressing or primary cell lines). A willingness to be flexible and support the overall drug discovery program is key.

Molecular biology

• Design DNA constructs and/or vectors to overexpress proteins within recombinant systems

Cell biology

• Perform routine tissue culture of suspension/transient mammalian cell lines under sterile conditions, monitoring aspects such as cell counts and viability. Perform cell banking, as required
• Harvest and clarify cell culture fluid, as suitable for downstream protein purification
• Support other drug screening efforts using cell-based assays and monitoring functional readouts, such as cell viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity

Protein purification

• Design, execute and/or oversee experiments for the purification of recombinant proteins and antibodies.
• Develop and implement purification protocols using chromatography techniques (e.g. affinity, ion exchange and size exclusion)

Biophysical characterisation and quality control (QC) analysis

• Perform experiments and/or interpret data derived from:
  • QC analyses such as SDS-PAGE, Western blots, binding ELISAs, endotoxin-testing and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)biophysical analyses of proteins using techniques such as fluorescence, biolayer interferometry (BLI) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
• Critically analyse data describing protein stability or antibody developability (e.g. arising from thermal, physical and/or chemical stress), 3D-structure and drug-antigen interactions

• Hands-on experience of working within a laboratory in an industrial or drug-discovery environment (e.g. biotech, charity or pharma)
• Experience of producing recombinant proteins from mammalian cell lines
• Experience of protein purification using AKTA systems
• Experience of biophysical characterisation techniques, QC and/or profiling of proteins
• Experience of screening approaches for drug discovery using ELISA and/or cell-based assays
• PhD in Biochemistry or a related field with 2-3 years post-qualification experience OR MSc with equivalent years of experience
• Good communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional platform teams in order to advance project goals 
• Evidence of having maintained detailed experimental records, utilising informatic-supported inventory and electronic lab books 

• Be part of a motivated, dynamic and diverse team supporting cutting edge drug discovery 
• State of the art offices and laboratories at the Westworks, White City
• Competitive reward package including private medical insurance, bonus, pension, and much more!