Medicines Discovery Catapult - Lead Scientist - Radiotracers

Job Title:

Lead Scientist - Radiotracers

Category:

Other

Closing Date:

07/02/2025

Based at Alderley Park, Medicines Discovery Catapult is a national Life Sciences service dedicated to turning drug discovery into commercial breakthroughs. We accelerate the development of science, and where there are areas of unmet patient need, we stimulate innovation.

By transforming drug discovery, we can improve patient lives, increase the impact of the UK Life Sciences sector, and create a healthier society and economy. Our interventions work. Since we started, we have helped over 300 companies raise over £1bn of R&D investment. We seek passionate individuals who are eager to collaborate, innovate, and make a tangible difference in the field of drug discovery.

Together, we can unlock new therapies, enhance patient outcomes, and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of life sciences innovation. If you are ready to make an impact, we invite you to be part of our journey.

The values of the Catapult are:

• Excellence – we continually strive to deliver the best solutions for our partners and for each other. In everything we do, we instil confidence.
• Integrity – Our strong commitment to what we do and why we are here drives us to do the right thing for our partners and each other.
• Community – We’re a strong team, we work well together, and we respect each other.
• Innovation - We’re driven by the need to make a difference. We constantly look for ways to drive change in our sector and how we work.

Role purpose:

MDC has established a major new capability in radiotracers and radiochemistry, at WMIC Manchester. This platform is essential for the success of MDC Preclinical Imaging and is a key component of UK PET Network to ensure we have novel radiotracers available for PET imaging by MDC and for a range of academic and commercial partners. This is a highly specialist area of chemistry and needs a depth of understanding of labels, chemistry options and tracer radiochemistry.

A new partnership will shortly be established at WMIC where a major international PET clinical chemistry company will work with MDC to deliver clinical impact. The Lead Scientist will be the central point of coordination with this clinical radiochemistry partner. This is in addition to growing radiochemistry internal and external portfolios. The scientific depth of expertise needed to resolve complex solutions to complex medicine labelling means that a Lead Scientist position is now appropriate to take this technology forward in MDC and beyond.

This Lead Scientist will provide scientific leadership across our radiotracer portfolio, mentor junior scientists, engage closely with major external partners and our internal Health & Safety Management, and drive further capability development in labelling increasingly challenging molecules and will encompass line management and mentorship of other scientists.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Strategic leadership in advanced techniques for radiolabelling candidate molecules relevant to drug discovery
• Key point of contact with commercial radiopharmaceuticals company at WMIC around use of facility and radiochemicals supply
• Develop and oversee a high quality portfolio of Cyclotron-enabled radiotracers for a partner commercial laboratory at WMIC.
• Shape the portfolio of radiochemistry projects within the workplans of several lab individuals.
• Process and technology development to improve assays and advance new approaches.
• Generate new external partnerships and innovative internal projects
• Manage complex collaborative projects with external partners to completion, capable of working collaboratively with other disciplines as well as independently.
• Implementation of effective lab processes, experimental records, and safety.
• Contribute scientific insight, innovative assays, to advance technologies.
• Deliver high quality data in a complex and time pressured research team environment.
• Excellent communication and research collaboration skills, working with a wide range of colleagues in range of academic and commercial organisations.

Qualifications and experience:

• The successful candidate will possess a first degree and PhD in radiochemistry science, or equivalent relevant experience
• Extensive experience in radiochemistry using hot cells and cyclotron across a wide range of challenges including direct and in-direct labelling methods for small molecules; biologics and complex medicines; and the use of gamma emitters such as 18F, 89Zr and 68Ga
• Extensive expertise in finding novel labelling strategies for research and translational drug discovery projects.
• Ability to lead a complex laboratory and project portfolio
• Knowledge, leadership, adherence, and compliance to Environment Agency standards and ability to lead annual audited procedures and events
• Effective communication and research collaboration skills, working with a wide range of colleagues in range of academic and commercial organisations
• An understanding of innovative advances and a desire and ability to execute projects in growing areas of radio-diagnostics & radio-therapeutics development such as 64Cu, 90Y, 177Lu, 225Ac)
• Experience of leading collaborative project teams, with both internal and external colleagues
• Experience of working effectively with academic groups and with SMEs
• Ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously in a highly collaborative and inter-disciplinary environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with both experts and non-experts in the field
• Highly effective strategic communication and research collaboration skills, working closely with a wide range of colleagues in range of academic and commercial organisations
• Strong external reputation in field, evidence by publication record and wider external impact
• Track record of innovation and establishing new capabilities for their organisation