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• Postdoctoral Training Fellow - X-ray crystallography

Salary: Dependent on relevant Postdoctoral experience. Future progression is based on annual performance review.

This role is eligible for ICR Sponsorship. Support will be provided for costs associated with Visa application. If you are considering relocating to the UK, further information can be found here.

A postdoctoral position is available in Dr Rob van Montfort’s Hit Discovery and Structural Design Team within the CCDD. The Post-doc will be involved in the structure determination of protein‑ligand complexes, primarily by X‑ray crystallography but also potentially by cryo‑electron microscopy (cryoEM), as part of one of the CCDD’s drug discovery programmes.

The postholder will be responsible for protein production and purification, protein crystallisation, structure determination by X‑ray crystallography and subsequent structural analysis. The successful candidate will be an integral member of a multidisciplinary project team within the CCDD at the ICR Sutton site, and will interact closely with biologists, computational chemists, medicinal chemists, assay scientists and structural biologists. They will have access to state‑of‑the‑art facilities for protein production and purification, as well as biophysical characterisation and crystallisation at the Sutton site.

We also benefit from excellent access to Diamond Light Source synchrotron at the Harwell Science and Innovation campus, Didcot, UK, for X‑ray data collection.

The successful candidate will also be part of the Division of Structural Biology, located in Chelsea, in which the structural biologists in Dr van Montfort’s team are also embedded, and will have access to its state‑of‑the‑art cryoEM facilities. These include an in‑house Glacios and 30 % direct access to a Titan KRIOS located at the Francis Crick Institute.

Both microscopes are equipped with Falcon III detectors and volta phase plates (VPP).

Applicants must have a PhD (or equivalent) in a biological or physical science, with demonstrable experience in X‑ray crystallography and protein biochemistry. Experience in cryo-EM specimen preparation and data processing would be an advantage, though not strictly mandatory. Experience in molecular biology, protein expression and purification, as well as biophysical characterisation of protein samples would also be highly desirable.

Candidates who are nearing completion of their PhD may apply, but confirmation of awarded PhD is required within 6 months of employment.

The ICR has a workforce agreement stating that Postdoctoral Training Fellows can only be employed for up to 7 years as PDTF at the ICR, providing total postdoctoral experience (including previous employment at this level elsewhere) does not exceed 7 years.

For general information on Postdocs at the ICR, more information can be found here.

The Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery (CCDD), within the Division of Cancer Therapeutics, is a multidisciplinary 'bench to bedside' centre, comprising around 160 staff dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The CCDD’s exciting goal is to discover high quality drug candidates for validated biological targets and to progress these candidates to clinical trial. All the scientific disciplines are in place to make this possible. Our world‑class biologists, chemists and drug metabolism specialists work together focusing on new molecular targets emerging from human genome and ground‑breaking cell biology research. This is an exciting and fast‑moving area of cancer research and offers the opportunity to work within a multi‑disciplinary environment using state‑of‑the‑art techniques and equipment.

The Hit Discovery and Structural Design Team uses biochemical and biophysical assays to perform small‑molecule high‑throughput screening and fragment‑based hit discovery, coupled with X‑ray crystallography and cryo electron microscopy to enable structure‑based drug design within the CCDD. These methodologies are underpinned by state‑of‑the‑art protein expression, purification and biophysical characterisation capabilities, allowing for the generation of large quantities of high‑quality protein targets.

Pertinent to this role, the team’s protein production laboratories are equipped with six state‑of‑the‑art GE Healthcare Akta Pures for protein purification and has the capabilities to produce recombinant proteins in bacteria, insect cells and mammalian cells. The team is also equipped with a broad range of biophysical technologies including SPR (GE Healthcare T200 & 8K Biacores), ITC (Malvern MicroCal iTC200), DSF/TSA (Nanotemper Prometheus & Biorad 384‑well thermal cyclers) and DLS (Xtal concepts SpectroLight600). Additionally, we have access to Mass Spectrometry and NMR facilities within the division, used both for sample QC and assays (MS‑based assays, ligand‑ and protein‑observed NMR). Our screening laboratory is equipped with a number of HTS multimode plate readers (including two BMG Pherastars) for biochemical/functional target protein characterisation and compound testing. To enable fast and accurate assay preparation, the team possesses a broad range of liquid handling equipment, including pipetting robots and two Beckman ECHOs acoustic dispensing machines integrated onto Access systems for compound dispensing. The team hosts a state‑of‑the‑art crystallisation laboratory, equipped with specialised liquid handling robots (SPT Labtech Mosquito and Dragonfly), coupled with a plate imaging robot (Formulatrix RockImager 1000) to enable fast discovery and optimisation of crystallisation conditions. We also possess a rotating anode X‑ray source onsite in Sutton (Rigaku FRX with Pilatus 300K detector) and benefit from very good access to Diamond Synchrotron at the Harwell Science and Innovation campus, Didcot, UK. Finally, the team has access to the cryoEM facilities of the Division of Structural Biology. These include an in‑house Glacios and 30 % direct access to a Titan KRIOS located at the Francis Crick Institute. Both microscopes are equipped with Falcon III detectors and volta phase plates (VPP).

You will be joining a team working at the crossroads of the drug discovery activities of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, where scientific excellence and team science are core values. You will be working in close collaboration with colleagues in the fields of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, DMPK and computational chemistry. This position will also offer training in new techniques and support will be available for attending training courses and appropriate academic meetings.

• A dynamic and supportive research environment
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art facilities and professional development opportunities
• Collaboration with leading researchers in the field
• Competitive salary and pension

We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Please DO NOT send your application to Dr van Montfort or Dr Le Bihan, but apply via the e‑recruitment system on our website www.icr.ac.uk/careers.

As a member of staff, you'll have exclusive access to a range of staff benefits.

The ICR is committed to supporting overseas applicants applying for roles, please click here to find out further information.

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world's most influential cancer research institutes, with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. Further information about working at the ICR can be found here.

At the Institute of Cancer Research, we champion diversity as we believe it fuels innovation and drives impactful research. We welcome applicants from all walks of life, valuing diverse perspectives that enrich our work.

Don't let a checklist of qualifications hold you back – if you're passionate about the role, we want to hear from you. Your unique experiences and backgrounds contribute to the richness of our team. We are committed to being an equal opportunity for all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or any other dimension of diversity. Join us in creating an inclusive environment where everyone's voice is heard and valued.