Associate Scientist

Based at Alderley Park, Medicines Discovery Catapult is a national facility connecting the UK community to accelerate innovative drug discovery. We provide unique scientific capabilities and act as a gateway to UK resources and expertise, supporting UK SMEs to drive the development and industrialisation of new approaches for the discovery of new medicines.

By validating new ways of discovering medicines and driving key talent and expertise across the sector, we will support the UK life sciences industry, SMEs and innovators to deliver growth for the UK economy and maintain the UK’s heritage position as a global leader in medicines R&D. Ultimately, new industrialised technologies are vital for delivering new medicines to patients, faster.

**The role**

There is now an opportunity for an Associate Scientist to join our biomarkers research team, which has been established at MDC, Alderley Park. This individual will work closely with our molecular pathology scientists, providing essential technical support to enable delivery of a portfolio of partnered projects. This fully lab-based individual will support key projects and innovation through deployment of a range of sample preparation processes, protocols and QC along with the opportunity to run routine biomarker assays to support the delivery of data to drug discovery projects.

The individual will have experience of working in a histology or molecular pathology lab and be familiar with principles of tissue preservation and sectioning and molecular techniques including immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation

This opportunity to join a world class laboratory team in this high-profile national organisation, while collaborating with SMEs, Biotechs and leading academic institutes and researchers, should provide a fantastic platform for career development.

**Main duties and responsibilities**
- Provision of lab support to the Molecular Pathology team, working with established protocols and methods to enable effective delivery of the project portfolio.
- Collecting and preserving of tissues from translational studies using methods compatible with various molecular analyses.
- Processing, embedding and sectioning of tissues for histology/molecular pathology/mass spectrometry imaging.
- Performing routine tinctorial staining.
- Analysis of pre-clinical and clinical tissues using molecular staining procedures such as IHC and ISH.
- Performing data analysis and QC.
- Implementation of effective lab processes, experimental records, and safety.
- Effective communication and research collaboration skills, working with a wide range of colleagues.
- Assisting colleagues in the biomarkers and translational imaging team with basic laboratory support.

**Qualifications and Experience**
- Capacity to closely follow SOPs.
- Experience of tissue processing and sectioning.
- Some familiarity with tissue histology would be advantageous, particularly for precious clinical tissues.
- Confidence in dealing with human biological samples and familiarity with the Human Tissue Act.
- Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously in a highly collaborative and inter-disciplinary environment.
- Ability to work well in a team environment and manage own workload.

**Closing date: Friday 20th January 2023