Lead Biomarker Scientist

Owlstone Medical (www.owlstonemedical.com) is on a mission to save 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®, which enables the non-invasive collection and analysis of biomarkers in exhaled breath for early disease detection and precision medicine.

We are currently seeking a Biomarker Scientist (at the Senior or Lead level) to join our Clinical Biomarker Services Team based out of our headquarter site in Cambridge, UK. The ideal candidate will have clinical research, biomarker discovery, and service business experience. They will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team of accomplished professionals to accelerate awareness and adoption of Breath Biopsy® (non-invasive analysis of biomarkers on breath in early disease detection and precision medicine) as a valuable tool for clinical researchers.

The Biomarker Scientist will support our research products and services business through presenting case studies that highlight applications of Owlstone’s technology, engaging customers in clinical study designs to meet their desired study objectives, providing scientific context around breath-based clinical study data, and delivering customer-enabling insights based on the biological context of the identified biomarkers.

The Biomarker Scientist also will support platform R&D by assisting with internal study designs, providing biological insight to internal data and to Owlstone’s Breath Biopsy Atlas (a catalogue of identified and quantified volatile organic compounds found in exhaled breath), advising on areas to focus our platform R&D based on observations from customer studies and scientific literature, and advising on specifications for our platform based on their knowledge of biomarker discovery.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as a technical liaison to Sales and Marketing to help foster client relationships; travel to customer sites and scientific conferences to help build a strong base of support for the utilization of breath in non-invasive biomarker discovery in the clinical research community.
• Taking scientific responsibility for customer studies, including evaluation of study designs and data analysis plans, data interpretation, and communication of findings to customers through presentations and written reports.
• Collaborate with customers and Owlstone biostatisticians to ensure that analysis plans for clinical and biomarker data meet the clinical study objectives.
• Communicate effectively with customers and internal stakeholders at all stages of work, from initial study design to generation of written reports and data presentations.
• Work with internal stakeholders (Clinical Trials Team, Biostatisticians, Study Delivery Manager) to ensure that analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data meet agreed schedules and customer expectations.
• Provide input into platform R&D for continuous improvement of platform capabilities for on-breath biomarker discovery.
• Mapping on-breath volatile organic compounds to biological processes to better understand the underlying pathophysiology of disease and develop clinically-relevant evidence-based monitoring tools

Requirements

Requirements

General Competencies:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills allowing engagement with a diverse range of external (pharma, clinical, and academic scientists) and internal stakeholders (life scientists, analytical scientists and biochemists, sales & marketing).
• Team-oriented and customer-focused; strong alignment to company strategy and corporate culture.
• Ability to prioritize work effort to successfully meet deadlines with attention to detail, setting high performance standards.
• Cultivates relationships that secure customer commitment and trust by maintaining a customer-centric approach.
• Exhibits strong commercial awareness and adapts to changing priorities of the business.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and be proactive in your approach to work, with an independent, creative, and open mindset.

Technical Competencies

• Critical thinker with the ability to evaluate, interpret, and synthesize conclusions from complex scientific data, and communicate results to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to rapidly become well-versed in relevant scientific literature and extend those observations to customer studies.
• Demonstrates a substantial and relevant understanding of pathophysiology and the utilization of biomarkers to diagnose disease and disease progression, stratify patients, assess the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention, and to personalize patient treatment.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline, preferably with demonstrable experience working in a biomedical, clinical, or commercial environment.
• Practical knowledge of metabolism with experience in clinical study design and disease models (particularly respiratory, infectious disease, or oncology) is desired.
• Experience with preclinical biomarker discovery or developing biomarker strategies in a clinical setting is desired.
• Experience with metabolomics (or other omics) data from clinical or epidemiologic studies is desired.
• Strong publication record or other demonstrable track record of performance and collaboration.

Benefits

About Owlstone Medical

Owlstone Medical is on a mission to save 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®. This involves collecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and respiratory droplets from breath, which can provide information about metabolic activity and markers related to health and disease.

Breath sampling has substantial advantages for the early detection of disease and to enable precision medicine approaches to patient care. To realize these advantages, Owlstone Medical offers Research Products and Services for biomarker discovery and is developing tests in applications including cancer, liver disease, asthma, and environmental exposure. Our work includes partnerships with major organizations including AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, the Cleveland Clinic, and the NHS and our platform is in use at well over 100 clinical and academic sites worldwide.

Our leadership in breath is underpinned by our world-class and varied team, including systems engineers, clinical scientists, analytical chemists, artificial intelligence specialists and clinical trials coordinators.

The Owlstone group also commercializes a range of highly innovative products based on its proprietary FAIMS chemical sensing technology in other markets including Scientific, Industrial Process Control, Military and Homeland Defense.

We offer a relaxed, friendly, flexible and international working environment with a strong and vibrant team-spirit. You will be rewarded with a competitive salary package that includes an Employee share options scheme and private medical insurance and your work will have a clear impact on people’s lives. If you want to experience the buzz of a thriving start-up company set to succeed on a global scale, Owlstone Medical could be the place for you.

We do not accept applications from agencies outside of our preferred supplier list. If you are concerned that your application has not been received by Owlstone Medical, please contact us using

Owlstone is an equal opportunity employer, and we will consider all qualified applicants for employment without discrimination on any characteristic protected by law including but not exhaustive to; grounds of disability, sex or sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity leave status, race or national or ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, gender identity or re-assignment, marital or civil partnership status.

Due to the nature of our business, all employment is subject to satisfactory references being obtained and the attainment of a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check. Access to selected project information requires prior additional security authorization. Access to US technical data by employees requires prior Export Control function approval. Full clearance must be satisfactorily attained against all applicable project security and US export control authorisations. Failure to meet any reference, BPSS, project-security or export-control authorisations may have an impact on successfully completing your probationary period.

Notice to agencies

Owlstone Medical Ltd politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We don’t accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. Should your agency wish to be considered in our next PSL review please contact careers@owlstone.co.uk