Job Abstract

Are you an experienced Physician driven by translational science? Would you like to combine your leadership skills and scientific expertise to lead a Clinical Innovation team? Join us to develop the ground-breaking medicines of the future for Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic diseases!

At AstraZeneca, we work without barriers between functions at the cutting-edge of clinical science, it’s a place to rethink the future of medicine to answer some of the most complex unmet patient needs. That’s why we love it – this is the place to make a greater impact! 

We are now recruiting an Executive Director to lead our Clinical Innovation Team in the Translational Science & Experimental Medicine (TS&EM) department within Early Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM) therapeutic area.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to work at the forefront of translational science and early clinical research within CVRM. In a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment, you will play an important leadership role to promote the progression of a rich and diverse portfolio of investigational drugs in accordance with the TS&EM remit. The role may be located at one of  AstraZeneca’s vibrant R&D sites in Cambridge (United Kingdom) Gaithersburg or Boston (USA) or Gothenburg (Sweden).

Who We Are

Early CVRM is accountable for the discovery and development of new medicines within three main strategic disease areas - cardiovascular/heart failure, metabolism and chronic kidney disease. In the Early CVRM TS&EM Department we utilise data science, cutting edge laboratory methodology, well-phenotyped patient cohorts and innovative experimental medicine studies to accelerate the validation of drug targets in human disease; develop target-related biomarker strategies; generate precision medicine and/or patient segmentation hypotheses and establish the clinical line of sight & experimental medicine studies to support the development of investigational drugs within the rich Early CVRM portfolio.

What you’ll do

As leader for the TS&EM Clinical Innovation Team, you will be responsible for overseeing design and delivery of clinical research activities that support human target validation, precision medicine and clinical line of sight for drug targets and investigational drugs in the Early CVRM portfolio.  You will work in cross-functional teams within the TS&EM department and across Early CVRM to establish project-specific clinical research strategies and translational science plans for compounds targeting CV, metabolic and renal diseases. You will be a member of the TS&EM leadership team. Additional accountabilities include:

• Design and deliver early-stage clinical research activites in accordance with the TS&EM remit across the core disease areas in Early CVRM.
• Lead and develop a team of translational physicians and scientists
• Collaborate closely with other groups within the Early CVRM therapeutic area, including Early Clinical Development and Bioscience departments, to provide translational science and clinical expertise to develop research strategies that support human target validation, clinical line of sight, target-related biomarkers, digital technologies, and patient phenotyping cohort studies.

• Oversee the coordination and utilisation of patient cohorts and multi-omic data to support increased understanding of human disease mechanisms and generation of precision medicine hypotheses.

• Design and deliver experimental medicine clinical studies across the Early CVRM portfolio, ensuring the ethical and scientific integrity of the plans, studies and the product in compliance with GCP.
• Support the generation of scientific evidence for biomarker endpoints, including digital and imaging, that reflect disease progression and patient segmentation and clinical outcomes.
• Maintain a high degree of understanding and awareness on new and emerging medical developments.
• Serve as a internal and external scientific expert and thought leader to communicate and disseminate the scientific accomplishments of our Early CVRM Translational Science & Experimental Medicine team through internal workshops and forums, presentations at scientific meetings, and scientific publications.
• Lead interactions with key external clinical and scientific experts.

Essential for the role

This highly visible, strategic role will require a well-trained and experienced Physician who is driven by translational science and has strong leadership and communication skills . You have a Medical Degree M.D (preferentially specialized in the metabolism, cardiovascular or renal areas) and a strong research background with relevant academic degree such as Ph.D. or Professorship in a clinical and/or translational scientific discipline. Scientific excellence measured by scientific publications is a must as well as conceptual, analytical, and strategic thinking. In addition you have:

• Demonstrated track record in translation medicine and  drug project delivery with >5 years relevant experience in the pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology industry
• Demonstrated ability to perform explorative clinical studies to support target validation and biomarker qualification
• Solid understanding of preclinical models, assays, and translational aspects linked to CVRM indications
• A broad understanding of the global pharmaceutical industry and of the key value creating processes within the industry
• Experience of leading a team, developing talent and working in a global matrix research environment

With your excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills you have the ability to influence strategically and persuade tactfully to obtain desired outcomes while maintaining effective, positive organizational relationships. You operate effectively across boundaries to influence both internal and external stakeholders, including senior management. Your passion, strong vision and drive to succeed will be key to success together with an agile approach to life-long learning!

So, what’s next?

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you.

Welcome to apply! This application period is open until July 28th. Please apply as soon as possible since we are continuously reviewing candidates.

Where can I find out more?

CVRM at AstraZeneca:https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-therapy-areas/cardiovascular-renal-and-metabolism.html

CVRM ambition movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfTEz00kx4I

Publications: https://www.astrazeneca.com/publication.html

Date Posted

Closing Date