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Protein Scientist

Employer
CK Group
Location
Cambridge
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
3 Jun 2021

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Sector
Biotechnology
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time

Job Details

CK Group are working in partnership with Avacta to recruit for a Protein Scientist to join them at their site based in Cambridge on a permanent basis.

The Company:
Avacta is developing Affimer <https://avacta.com/therapeutics/affimer-technology/>® bio-therapeutics to meet the growing demand for the next generation of drugs that will compete with monoclonal antibodies and other antibody mimetics, primarily in oncology. The Affimer technology is a novel protein scaffold based on the human protease inhibitor Stefin A. Key benefits of the Affimer technology are its small size, ease of formatting, high expression yields (even of large multimeric structures) and stability. Avacta are also developing a range of novel FAP-a activated pro-drug chemotherapeutics (pre|CISION <https://avacta.com/therapeutics/precision/>™ and TMAC™) that can be used as mono- or as combination therapies for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. Their first drug AVA6000, has recently being approved for clinical trials.

Location:
Avacta are conveniently located in Cambridge, near Whittlesford Parkway station in state-of-the-art laboratories, offering an exciting and innovative environment where you will have the opportunity to develop your career.

Protein Scientist Role:
Your main duties will be to:
• Clone, express and purify Affimers for protein characterisation work and stability testing using a range of different expression platforms (bacterial and mammalian cells eg, CHO/HEK)
• Clone, express, purify and characterise recombinant proteins to be used in phage screens and ELISA/cell-based assays from a range of expression platforms and fully characterise them using a range of methods (HPLC, SDS-PAGE, western blot, ELISA, IEF, SPR etc)
• Maintain and establish cell lines required for protein production
• Engineer Affimers for improved properties and with serum half-life extension technologies (eg, as Fc-fusions). Design, clone, express and characterise the proteins produced
• Carry out optimisation studies to increase Affimer production from microbial hosts
• Develop bench scale protein purification protocols using conventional chromatography resins to purify up to gram quantities of Affimer
• Set up and carry out HPLC based assays to characterise Affimers (eg, size exclusion, reverse phase chromatography etc)
• Carry out accelerated stability studies on Affimers and characterise changes that may occur
• Establish pre-formulation studies for increasing stability of the proteins produced
• Produce high quality Affimer and tool molecules for pre-clinical studies, delivering within timelines at the correct specification
• Present work/data at internal group/company meetings or to external clients when necessary and produce accurate scientific reports
• Maintain a current and accurate laboratory record (electronic lab notebook) of all activities
• Contribute to lab set up and organisation, demo new equipment when necessary, maintain current equipment, maintain databases and shared lab stocks

Your Background:
The ideal candidate for this role will have/be:
• Minimum of MSc level in protein biochemistry, protein engineering or molecular biology. A PhD would be highly desirable for this position.
• Experience with standard protein production techniques, AKTA purification, and HPLC systems
• Knowledge and practical skills with molecular biology to carry out protein engineering
• Excellent knowledge of a range of protein characterisation techniques
• Motivated self-starter who can work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic and multicultural team environment with a conscientious attitude and enthusiasm
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to interpret data sets generated
• Organised with an ability to work well under pressure and to challenging timelines

Entitlement to work in the UK is essential. For more information or to apply for this Protein Scientist position, please contact Sarah Farrow on 0191 3706486 or email sfarrow@ckgroup.co.uk. Please quote reference 49991.

Company

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Company info
Website
Telephone
+44 (0)1246 457700
Location
CK Group
Westwick House
The Bridge Business Centre
Beresford Way
Chesterfield
S41 9FG
GB

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