Executive Director, Heme-Onc Translational Medicine

Gaithersburg, MD/Waltham, MA/ NYC, NY

A leading scientific community, here we fuse academia and industry. We are united by a shared passion for patients. A diverse community, we are proud to have female leaders in 45% of Senior roles. High expectations and hunger for more means we are always disrupting – challenging the norm and taking the initiative to try new things. We set the tone for the rest of the industry, consistently publishing our findings in high impact journals, and leading with expertise and entrepreneurial spirit. Working closely and openly across the globe, we pioneer new approaches for the industry. We have established a collaborative research initiative and have 475 pre-clinical partners. We are empowered to be bold, take calculated risks and use our intelligence and courage to always follow the science. This approach has enabled us to successfully deliver 7 new Oncology medicines in as many years. Naturally curious, this is the place to think and explore without limits. It’s up to each of us to set the direction, question and discover new ways. Committed to lifelong learning, we know there is always more we can uncover. It’s by supporting each other that we stay intellectually challenged and keep pushing forward!

As the Executive Director, Heme-Onc Translational Medicine, you are responsible to:

• Provide leadership in Hematological-Oncology and in the clinical utility of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD)
• Deliver biomarker strategies which enable demonstration of mechanism of action (MoA) of the Heme-Onc portfolio and enhance disease understanding
• Develop patient selection biomarkers which can be developed into companion or complementary diagnostics
• Implement streamlined approaches to ensure team members deliver a data package upon which to build a clinical translational strategy for clinical target validation (e.g.target distribution, MoA, preclinical proof of concept, and BLA or NDA-enabling studies such as definitive MoA/pharmacology studies, PK/PD and ADME characterization, and IND-enabling toxicology and safety pharmacology)
• Support early oncology projects by supervising Translational Scientists delivering to the Heme-Onc portfolio and driving the development of Heme-onc biomarker tools for use across heme-Onc indications.
• Build and progress the early Heme-Onc portfolio by ensuring clinical development leverages translational medicine strategy and makes data driven decisions during the clinical development. of the Heme-Onc portfolio
• Develop relationships with the senior scientific and other (eg, business development) staff to define, articulate and execute AstraZeneca's scientific vision and strategy
• Align research and early development functions with AstraZeneca's corporate mission, vision and business strategy
• Develop and apply in-depth knowledge of therapeutic areas, emerging relevant preclinical and clinical research, product and competitive landscapes including current treatment strategies, current and potential competitors, and new therapeutic developments
• Build and maintain strong relationships with opinion leaders, collaborators, scientific advisors, alliance partners and patient advocacy groups in order to help drive the scientific communications program and to ensure that team meets scientific and business objectives
• Represent research and early development functions at the Executive and Board levels
• Ensure the integration of expertise/findings from discovery research, nonclinical and clinical groups while facilitating broader discussion with groups such as regulatory, process development, market research, business development and legal
• Define integrated preclinical risk/benefit profiles for AstraZeneca's development candidates
• Work closely with regulatory, program management, clinical to formulate regulatory strategy, engage global health agencies and generate approvable BLAs and NDAs.
• Implement value-based, data-driven approaches to managing and prioritizing the research and early development pipeline and portfolio
• Support early clinical PoC and clinical development, registration and marketing
• Ensure that translational medicine works closely with clinical development to design and execute appropriate phase 1/2a study(s) to generate FIH safety, PK, PD, PK/PD, biomarker or efficacy/PoC data to support continued clinical development or no-go for program

Experience and Required Skills:

• PhD or MD or DVM is required.
• A minimum of 15 years of relevant experience
• The ability to travel (30% of time)
• Ability to align with detailed scientific methodology standards and present findings for peer review
• Capability to constructively facilitate debate across deep technical and broad strategic issues and develop alternative options
• Ability to create an environment where imaginative and constructive dialog can flourish, conflict is well-managed and complex issues are driven to full resolution
• Attract, retain, manage, coach, and mentor scientific staff
• Extensive experience designing, running, and managing multiple research and early development programs simultaneously
• Comprehensive understanding and ability to articulate the drug development process in all phases of testing so that drug candidates are critically evaluated
• Strong communication and presentation skills are essential and includes: summarization, interpretation, and communication of results and implications of research and early development in order to provide recommendations to executive management, alliance partners and regulatory authorities.

About the Site, Gaithersburg, MD:

Our Gaithersburg, Maryland facility creates life-changing medicines for people around the world. This campus employs more than 3,500 experts in our field and is only a short drive from Washington, DC. This modern and vibrant scientific campus is the home of R&D and Oncology in the US. Here, we play host to some of the most cutting-edge technology and lab spaces, all designed to inspire collaboration and cross-functional science. We believe employees benefit from being challenged and inspired at work. We are dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion and collaboration.

The Gaithersburg site offers amenities to help boost productivity and help keep our employees happy and healthy. This includes a fitness center, employee healthcare clinic, electric vehicle charging stations, dry cleaning, cafeteria and copy center. This is where you’ll find newly-designed, activity-based work spaces to suit a variety of working styles while increasing collaboration between teams.

Next Steps – Apply today!

To be considered for this exciting opportunity, please complete the full application on our website at your earliest convenience – it is the only way that our Recruiter and Hiring Manager can know that you feel well qualified for this opportunity. If you know someone who would be a fit, please share this posting with them.

Date Posted

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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.