Group Leader - Antibody Screening and Pharmacology

Reports to: Associate Director - Antibody Discovery & Protein Science

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week (other flexible-working requests will also be considered if it meets business needs)

Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge with flexibility (3 days minimum per week onsite at the laboratory site).

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application.

Recruitment process: Initial telephone screening interview, followed by onsite F2F assessment for successful candidates.

To support our mission, we are looking for a passionate and dedicated Group Leader to lead the Antibody Discovery Cell Screening Team, overseeing antibody screening, pharmacology, candidate triaging, and data-driven selection to advance pre-clinical drug candidates.

As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we’ve helped bring fourteen new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster.

Cancer Research Horizons (CRH) is CRUK’s internal translation engine. CRUK’s established drug discovery teams operate under one organisation and leadership team. Our unique combination of cancer biology expertise and access to CRUK’s world-class academic network, coupled with cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise enables us to
1) bring new treatments to patients faster and
2) tackle the biggest challenges in discovering cancer drugs by seeking out more radical ideas and embracing risk in our bid to achieve success.

Based at sites in Cambridge, the CRUK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, and Newcastle University, Cancer Research Horizons employs :180 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds

Key accountabilities include:

• Lead and develop the Antibody Discovery Cell Screening Team, setting the vision and providing scientific and strategic leadership in antibody drug discovery and immunology.
• Oversee the design, execution and optimisation of pharmacological assays to evaluate antibody efficacy, mechanism of action and candidate potential.
• Define and implement screening and triaging strategies, integrating develop ability, binding and functional data to support informed candidate selection.
• Apply experience in delivering pre-clinical candidates to establish critical experiments, success criteria and decision points for program progression.
• Drive scientific and technical innovation through new technologies, methodologies, external collaborations and partnerships.
• Contribute to the strategic leadership of the Antibody Discovery & Protein Science team and the wider research strategy.
• Manage team expertise, capacity and resources to support portfolio governance, decision-making and capability development.
• Ensure alignment with N3CR principles and CRUK policies, working closely with relevant stakeholders and funding teams.
• Represent the team across therapeutic projects, cross-site initiatives and external scientific communities.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders to influence decision‑making and drive outcomes.
• Promote scientific excellence through publications, presentations, advisory roles, and the training and development of colleagues.
• Foster an inclusive culture where equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in decision‑making.

• PhD in Immunology, Pharmacology, Molecular Biology, or a related scientific discipline.
• Significant industry experience in antibody drug discovery, spanning hit identification, lead optimisation and candidate delivery.
• Proven leadership capability, with…