Postdoctoral Fellow Job Openings at AstraZeneca – Apply Below
Role: Postdoctoral Fellow – Functionalization of genetic risks of a-syn pathology in human neurons
Company: AstraZeneca
Location: Mölndal, Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden
Req ID: R-180627
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
About AstraZeneca:
Postdoctoral Fellow Job Openings at AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centered biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than a global leading pharmaceutical company. At AstraZeneca, we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work and empowering employees to push the boundaries of science and fuel their entrepreneurial spirit.
Competitive Salary, Bonus & Benefits Package
About Our Postdoc Programme:
- Bring your expertise, apply your knowledge, follow the science, and make a difference. AstraZeneca’s Postdoc Programme is for self-motivated individuals looking to deliver exciting projects in an encouraging, engaging, and innovative environment.
- You’ll work with multidisciplinary scientific teams from a diverse set of backgrounds and a world-class academic mentor specifically aligned to your project.
- Our postdocs are respected as specialists, encouraged to speak up, and supported to share their research at conferences, publish papers, and achieve their goals.
- Make a more meaningful impact in your career, with greater ownership and accountability to make a contribution whilst making a difference in the lives of our patients!
- This is a 3-year program, with an initial 2-year period and a 1-year merit-based extension.
About The Opportunity:
- This Postdoc opportunity offers the possibility for aspiring drug hunters in Neuroscience and Molecular Biology to join our teams at the core of AstraZeneca innovation research engines. Mentored by AZ scientists, the postdoc will gain first-hand experience developing innovative technologies, and complex disease models and bridging the gaps for discovery of breakthrough therapies.
- The postdoc will sit in the Applied Stem Cell Science Team in Sweden. The candidate will work in collaboration with the Neuroscience Therapy Area (Cambridge, UK), and the group of Sonia Gandhi at the Francis Crick Institute, (London, UK).
- We are a diverse group of scientists who complement each other in the identification and validation of novel targets and pathways in human stem cell-derived models.
- Both Mirko Messa and Bilada Bilican are Neuroscientists by training, with experience in the Neuro industry setting. The passion we have for Neuroscience and Neurodegeneration is reflected by the many collaborations we have with AZ NS.
Project Focus:
- Our aim is to combine human iPSC-disease models with cutting-edge gene editing to identify new targets and unlock novel molecular mechanisms involved in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).
- The postdoc will drive the project from the initial scoping to the experimental execution and preparation of high-impact manuscripts always supported by the AZ supervisors and the external academic expert.
- The entire project will require extensive collaborations with internal AZ groups (Neuroscience, screening, functional genomics, stem cells, and others) as well as with the external supervisor group.
What You’ll Do:
The postdoc will generate disease-relevant neuronal models that will be used in CRISPR screen platforms followed by cellular and molecular validation of relevant hits.
Key Duties & Responsibilities:
- Day-to-day activities include the generation of reagents (a-syn aggregates, gRNA libraries, differentiated neuronal cultures), maintenance of iPSCs and differentiated human neurons, and development of cell-based assays.
- Such differentiated neurons will be used to screen candidate genes in a phenotypic CRISPR screen followed by the development of cell-based assays for hit-specific validation.
Essential Requirements
Qualification, Skills & Experience:
- A Ph.D. or equivalent in Neuroscience and/or Stem cell biology or a related field
- Passionate about science – Your ability to conduct independent and innovative research is vital
- Extensive experience with human iPSCs: maintenance, genetic manipulation, and differentiation
- Significant understanding of molecular biology and CRISPR/Cas9 technology and its use in cell line generation and/or screening
- Experience with imaging of neuronal cells, immunofluorescence, and cell-based assays
Desirable Requirements:
- Experience in neurodegeneration research including knowledge of aggregation-based toxicity models
- Understanding of High throughput screening practices and principles
- Expertise with liquid handling and cell automation technologies
- Some Knowledge of coding platforms (R, Phyton, Matlab) to accelerate data acquisition, analysis, and visualization.
Our Postdoc will perform data analysis, prepare R&D presentations, and write 1-2 high-impact manuscripts for peer-review publications. We believe you have an enthusiasm for learning new skills and share ideas. In addition, you’ll have openness and inclusive behaviors to encourage and fuel diversity in our thinking and workplace.
