Senior Scientific Officer (Preclinical Pharmacology Team)

• Job Ref: NBC/26/41
• Duration: Permanent
• Salary: in the range of £29,761 -£47,625 (dependent on experience)

The mission of the CRUK National Biomarker Centre (NBC) is to discover, develop, validate and qualify biomarkers that facilitate optimised treatment of patients with cancer. The NBC Preclinical Pharmacology Team (PP) focuses on evaluation of novel therapeutics across cancer types alongside development of predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers using a broad set of preclinical cancer models.

About the role:

We are seeking a curiosity driven, highly skilled scientific officer with considerable relevant experience to join the PP team. The types of analyses routinely performed include in vitro/ex vivo cell-based assays (e.g., for cell viability, proliferation, invasion, migration) to evaluate the efficacy of novel therapeutics (targeted and immunotherapies) as monotherapies or in combinations. Studies will also include discovery and validation of candidate predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers. As well as the use of established cancer cell lines, the role will involve derivation and characterisation of primary cell cultures, development and analysis of primary organoids and co-cultures.  A range of molecular biology approaches will be used to function test hypotheses and credential therapy targets (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9 depletion/shRNA approaches and screens using these tools). Mid throughput drug screening will also be in remit. 

This is an incredible opportunity to develop your career as a preclinical cancer pharmacologist within a multidisciplinary setting, adjacent to one of Europe’s largest cancer hospitals, surrounded by a wealth of expertise. You will be driven by the goal to support the development of novel therapies and biomarkers to optimise their clinical utility using patient relevant preclinical models and incisive technologies. You will want to uplift your existing skills sets and get involved in strategic decision making as we expand the PP team and seek to bring in new collaborations and additional funding. You will enjoy supporting early career scientists and derive satisfaction seeing them progress with their projects.  You will be excited by the opportunity to work with our pharmacologists and biomarker specialists to gain a holistic view of how drug treatment perturbs cells from both the tumour and host. 

This role affords an exciting opportunity to be part of a team testing the efficacy of novel therapeutics with parallel development of biomarkers to optimise their application in the clinic for the benefit of patients with cancer.

Key Responsibilities:

The post holder will be responsible to the team lead and deputy. They will contribute to the design and day-to-day oversight of team projects within the laboratory. The post holder will provide technical support to our early career researchers and take ownership of their own projects working with minimal supervision. 

About you:

You will have extensive experience in the field of cell biology/pharmacology ideally within cancer research laboratories along with previous experience in the supervision and mentoring of technical staff. You will have a degree in Molecular Pharmacology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cancer Biology or a related subject (or have equivalent relevant experience). Key qualities include independent thinking, leadership, ability to work in a team and good communication skills, all of which are needed to efficiently work in a multidisciplinary team. 

Why choose the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre?

We are an internationally leading, highly specialised translational research centre within The University of Manchester (www.manchester.ac.uk), aligned with the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute (www.cruk.manchester.ac.uk) and core-funded by Cancer Research UK (www.cancerresearchuk.org), the largest independent cancer research organisation in the world. In spring 2023, the NBC moved into the state-of-the-art Paterson Building, a £150 million flagship purpose-built biomedical research centre directly attached to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in South Manchester (www.christie.nhs.uk), one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe. These factors combine to provide an exceptional environment in which to pursue basic, translational and clinical research programmes and a perfect location for a multidisciplinary and highly collaborative Cancer Biomarker Centre. 

Agnostic to cancer type, the NBC discovers, develops, validates and qualifies biomarkers in preclinical models and in clinical studies and trials that detect and diagnose cancers earlier, that determine prognosis and that predict and monitor therapy responses (efficacy and toxicity) to support optimised treatment of patients with cancer. Our advanced research programmes, develop biomarkers in tissue and less invasive clinical samples such as blood (liquid biopsy). We use sophisticated bioinformatic and artificial intelligence solutions for the analysis and interpretation of integrated multi-modal laboratory biomarker and clinical data. We provide a highly specialised bridge between discovery science and clinical research and undertake a wide range of collaborative projects across Manchester, nationally and internationally.

Apply Now: 

To apply for this position please visit our website: https://apps.cruk.manchester.ac.uk/recruitment/candidate/searchvacancies

For any informal enquiries about this post, please contact Kathryn Simpson Kathryn.simpson@cruk.manchester.ac.uk  

Please ensure you detail the names of two referees and ensure you submit your application before the closing date specified.

Please note this vacancy will close for applications at 18:00 hours on the closing date specified.

Closing date: Sunday 13 September 2026.