Senior Research Investigator - Biomarkers - West Sussex

Job Purpose
An exciting opportunity has become available for an individual to join the Respiratory Disease area of the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, based at the research site in Horsham, West Sussex.  The successful candidate will be responsible for helping the  discovery and qualification of Biomarkers to support drug discovery in the Respiratory Disease Area (RDA)
Responsibilities:
To be successful in the role, candidates will ideally be able to;    
•    Work with project team leaders, Translational Medicine, NIBR Biomarker Development (BMD) and Biomarker Unit Head  to develop and implement biomarker strategies for drug discovery projects in RDA
•    Have experience in management and supervision of activities of  direct reports to achieve biomarker  identification and development goals for RDA projects
•    Provide histology technical expertise and advice to project team leaders and lab heads
•    Procurement and use of human tissue samples to enable biomarker identification and qualification
•    Feedback the results of experimental work via presentations and/or written reports to project teams
•    Perform independent experimental work and initiate exploratory research using histology
•    Develop and recommend objectives for their direct reports, including overseeing studies, assigning specific projects to subordinates and establishing target dates and priorities
•    Assign specific projects to direct reports, establish target dates and priorities and oversee studies
•    Coach and develop team members
Accountabilities:
•    Development and implementation of biomarker strategies for RDA projects as agreed with biomarker Unit Head
•    Productive working relationships with all stakeholders in the biomarker discovery and development process
•    Positively impacting project goals by delivery of agreed objectives
•    Effective use of molecular and histological techniques to support Biomarker Unit goals
•    Output of lab unit and quality of all work performed including compliance with Novartis guidelines on health and safety and data recording
•    Compliance with Novartis Code of Conduct
•    Adherence to Human Tissue Authority guidelines on usage of human tissue in research and ensuring effective and  timely recording of receipt, storage, usage and disposal of human tissue
Education
To be considered for this position the candidate will be PhD qualified (or equivalent) within the molecular and cellular biology discipline
Experience:
We are looking for candidates with relevant experience in the following areas;
•    Experience of managing and supervising the activities of a histology lab
•    Experience in working in image analysis, laser capture microdissection, confocal microscopy and animal tissues
•    Experience in the procurement and use of human tissue and the UK regulatory framework covering its storage and  usage
•    Extensive experience in the areas of molecular biology (eg. RNA isolation; western blotting; RT-PCR; TaqMan; DNA cloning; microarray profiling) and cell biology
     (primary cell and cell line culture; cell based functional  assays)
•    Experience with the  application of histology to the drug discovery process
•    Experience withthe application of molecular techniques to the drug discovery process
•    
Skills:
•    Proven hands-on molecular and histology skills
•    Proven experience in procurement and handling of human tissue
•    Scientific, managerial and supervisory skills to be able to run a lab unit to provide efficient and effective  biomarker support for RDA projects
You must also have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, combined with the ability to interact with and influence a range of other scientists, Translational Medicine colleagues and senior management. 
As this is a scientific leadership position, you will have demonstrable experience for leading and mentoring your own team of scientists.
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