Specialist in Genetics Trials & Precision Medicine

We are looking for a highly qualified and innovative Specialist in Genetics Trials and Precision Medicine, to implement cutting-edge human genetics insights to answer questions that will improve trial success and support human-genetics-driven precision medicine for cardiometabolic disease.

In this role you will:

• Provide human genetic support to project teams responsible for the progression of given therapies through the drug pipeline
• Work closely with colleagues to identify areas where genetics can help guide decision making e.g. indication selection, adverse effects
• Use genetic data with other omics - proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics - to better understand and personalize treatment responses
• Have the opportunity to incorporate trial data with genetics to inform decision-making and identify populations that will respond best to the treatments developed by our scientists

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with human genetics knowledge applied in a drug discovery or development setting to enhance our precision medicine efforts.

You will be expected to develop and drive your own projects, while also providing your expertise to existing projects within the Human Genetics Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Oxford. Our research centre is a collaborative endeavour, and you will work alongside statistical geneticists, clinicians, and computational and laboratory scientists from across the organisation and with external collaborators, to help get the right treatment to the right patient.

We welcome candidates with a good team ethic, who pay close attention to detail, and enjoy a fast-paced, dynamic environment where creative intellectual independence and knowledge sharing is actively encouraged. Most importantly, you must have a strong interest in applying your skills in the field of drug development.

Qualifications

You hold a PhD in human genetics, statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, pharmacogenomics or other related fields, and have 5+ years post PhD experience with approaches for marker-trait and gene-trait association (GWAS, PheWAS, TWAS, QTL mapping, Mendelian randomization, etc). You also have previous experience in handling omics data (e.g. transcriptomics, proteomics) would be considered an advantage.

Furthermore, you:

• Have 3+ years of professional/postdoc experience in handling and analysing clinical trial data in academia or preferably the biotech/pharma industry
• Have knowledge and experience of data-driven methods to characterize multimorbidity and a general understanding of the biology and pathophysiology underpinning cardiometabolic diseases
• Possess knowledge of, and experience using programming languages, for analysis of large-scale datasets, e.g., R, Python, or similar
• Have experience of communicating insights and presenting concepts to a diverse audience
• Are self-driven and work well in interdisciplinary teams

About the Department

You will be a member of our Genetics Trials & Precision Medicine Department which is part of the Human Genetics CoE led by Vice President, Joanna Howson PhD. The focus of the CoE is to use data science and human genetics to discover and develop new drug targets and biomarkers through a range of human-centric approaches e.g., high-throughput genetic discovery screens; Mendelian randomization; pLoF variant screens and precision medicine approaches relevant to type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, CVD, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity and rare endocrine and blood disorders.

You will be based at Novo Nordisk’s research Centre Oxford (NNRCO) in the heart of the world leading University of Oxford Medical campus. NNRCO is focused on bringing together in vitro and in silico scientists to discovery new biology and targets across the spectrum of cardiometabolic diseases. You can read more about Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford at: http://www.novonordisk.co.uk/about-novo-nordisk-in-uk/oxford-research-centre.html

The CoE is anchored in the newly established Digital Science & Innovation (DSI) organisation within Research & Early Development at Novo Nordisk. DSI is supporting the digital journey across all our therapy areas in R&ED. In DSI, we work in multidisciplinary teams in strong collaboration with all areas across R&ED and R&ED IT. We participate in drug development projects across the value chain, from early discovery to pre-clinical development. We engage in external collaborations to ensure access to the latest research and technology enablers, and we automate our labs and processes, and we focus on developing and retaining top talent.

Working at Novo Nordisk

At Novo Nordisk, we use our skills, dedication, and ambition to help people with diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases. We offer the chance to be part of a truly global workplace, where passion and engagement are met with opportunities for professional and personal development. We are a proud life-science company, and life is our reason to exist. We’re inspired by life in all its forms and shapes, ups and downs, opportunities, and challenges. For employees at Novo Nordisk, life means many things – from the building blocks of life that form the basis of ground-breaking scientific research, to our rich personal lives that motivate and energise us to perform our best at work. Ultimately, life is why we’re all here - to ensure that people can lead a life independent of chronic disease.

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