Principal Scientist - In Vitro Pharmacology

UCB - Union Chimique Belge; Slough; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

UCB - Union Chimique Belge in Slough, United Kingdom, seeks a Principal Scientist in In Vitro Pharmacology to lead hands-on laboratory research across multiple target classes and modalities. You will drive data-driven decisions using deep pharmacology expertise and quantitative analysis.

The role emphasizes leadership, collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and the use of primary human cells to explore mechanisms of action and translational pharmacology, fostering a high-performing research

Qualifications

• PhD or MSc in Pharmacology, Biology, Drug Discovery or related life sciences.
• Proven experience supporting discovery programmes (NCE/NBE) in pharma/biotech environments.
• Strong biochemical and/or cellular pharmacology expertise, including assay development and validation.
• Experience generating and interpreting complex pharmacology datasets with quantitative approaches.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver biochemical and cellular in vitro pharmacology assays for target validation and drug discovery.
• Generate, analyse and interpret pharmacology data to inform project decisions.
• Lead, mentor and support a small team of scientists.
• Apply quantitative and digital approaches to strengthen data interpretation and translational understanding.
• Work with primary human cells and complex functional assay systems to study target biology.
• Communicate insights and study outcomes to stakeholders.

Skills

Biochemical pharmacology

Cellular pharmacology

Data analysis

People leadership

Translational pharmacology

Education

PhD in Pharmacology

MSc in Pharmacology or related life sciences

Job description

Principal Scientist - In Vitro Pharmacology

UCB - Union Chimique Belge

Slough, United Kingdom

About the role

This role combines scientific leadership with hands-on laboratory research to support the progression of novel therapeutics across multiple target classes and modalities. You will leverage deep pharmacology expertise, quantitative analysis, and digital approaches to generate impactful data and drive informed decisions across discovery programmes.

Who You'll Work With

You will join the Target Evaluation and Primary Pharmacology team within UCB Research, partnering closely with experts across pharmacology, translational sciences, biology, data science and drug discovery to advance innovative therapeutic programmes.

What You'll Do

• Design and deliver biochemical and cellular in vitro pharmacology assays supporting target validation and drug discovery programmes across NCE and NBE modalities;
• Generate, analyse and interpret pharmacology data to inform project progression and portfolio decisions;
• Lead, mentor and support a small team of scientists while fostering a collaborative and high-performing research culture;
• Apply quantitative, computational and digital approaches to strengthen data interpretation and translational understanding;
• Work with primary human cells and complex functional assay systems to investigate target biology and mechanisms of action;
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and communicate scientific insights, recommendations and study outcomes to key stakeholders.

Interested? For This Position You'll Need the Following Education, Experience and Skills

• PhD, MSc or equivalent experience in Pharmacology, Biology, Drug Discovery, or a related life sciences discipline;
• Proven experience supporting small molecule (NCE) and/or biologic (NBE) discovery programmes within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology environment;
• Strong expertise in biochemical and/or cellular pharmacology, including assay development, optimisation, validation and application to target evaluation and drug discovery;
• Demonstrated ability to generate, analyse and interpret complex pharmacology datasets using quantitative, statistical and data visualisation approaches to drive project decisions;
• Experience in mathematical modelling or computational pharmacology is highly desirable;
• Experience working with primary human cells, complex functional assays, and translational pharmacology approaches to investigate mechanism of action and disease biology, would be desirable;
• A passion for people leadership and a willingness to manage a small team.