Director, Immuno-oncology Bioinformatics within Early Computational Oncology, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Working with one of the broadest and deepest Oncology pipelines in the industry offers the possibility to work on the most novel molecules at all development stages. It takes each of us challenging our thinking to keep pushing our pipeline forward and shape the future of Oncology.

The Early Computational Oncology group delivers measurable insights through the application of computational science to all areas of Astrazeneca’s Oncology portfolio. The group has substantial expertise and a renowned track record in bioinformatics and data science, undertaking both portfolio applied informatics research and the development of groundbreaking capabilities.

AstraZeneca is a company that always follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines. The Early Computational Oncology group has a unique role to play in leading the adoption of computational/data driven approaches to the drug discovery process. This role can be based in our Gaithersburg MD, Waltham, MA, or Cambridge UK campus. If this sounds like a role you are passionate about AstraZeneca might be the one for you!

What you’ll do

The Early Computational Oncology team is growing to meet the strategic challenges pursued by AZ Oncology. We are looking for a hardworking and motivated Director of oncology bioinformatics, with strong expertise in immune-oncology and experience in analysing late-stage clinical trials, to lead a small team to advance our understanding of disease biology and drug response, informing our patient selection strategies and future studies. To do this you will:

• Lead a small team of computational scientists to deliver critical insight into patient/tumour characteristics that underpin drug sensitivity and resistance to immunotherapies.
• Lead to analyse late-stage clinical trials in immunotherapies to provide biological insights into patient response, using clinical data and rich patient genomic data, and guide clinical development strategies for future trials
• Build a strategy for achieving this in close partnership with the Heads of Translational Medicine, Clinical Development , and the relevant drug project leads.
• Apply the latest computational/systems biology approaches to the wealth of AZ Oncology clinical and pre-clinical data.
• Use your familiarity with cancer biology/drug discovery to deliver impactful insights that impact development of the next generation of cancer medicines.
• Work with our Translational Medicine Leads to proactively influence the generation of data assets as part of a data generation strategy.
• Form effective collaborations with industry and academic partners, publish your work in high impact journals.

Essential for the role

• Relevant PhD (or equivalent graduate degree plus proven applied experience), combining technical expertise in computational/systems biology, bioinformatics or applied biostatistics.
• Significant experience in analysing genomic biomarkers in late stage oncology clinical trials, and performing survival analysis regularly
• A deep understanding of the biology and molecular mechanisms driving patient response or resistance to immunotherapies, e.g. PD-1/PDL-1 blockage
• Highly developed communication skills that convey concise, biological stories from complex data.
• The ability to coordinate and pursue multiple simultaneous projects to tight deadlines.
• Experience in leading and building teams
• An outstanding publication record.
• R and/or Python programming expertise in a Unix environment making use of high performance computing environments.

Why AstraZeneca

With our ground-breaking pipeline, the outlook is promising. Be proud to be part of a place that has achieved so much, yet is still moving forward. There’s no better time to join our global, growing enterprise as we pave the way for healthcare and society.

So, what’s next

Are you ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the table? Phenomenal! We have one seat available, and we hope it’s yours.

Where can I find out more? Follow AstraZeneca on:

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Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.