Research Scientist in QSTS

Certara; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A biopharmaceutical software company in the UK seeks a candidate for the QSTS team to curate data for QSAR and QSTR models. The ideal candidate will have an MSc in pharmacology, strong data curation skills, and experience with machine learning tools. Responsibilities include curating data from different sources and presenting findings for feedback.

Qualifications

• Educated to MSc level with a strong pharmacology knowledge.
• Previous experience of data curation is required.
• Candidates will present their work to colleagues for feedback.

Responsibilities

• Curate data for QSAR and QSTR models.
• Utilize medicinal chemistry publications and databases for data.
• Learn model building and testing, using text-mining tools.

Skills

Pharmacology knowledge

Data curation

Machine learning tools

Education

MSc in a relevant field

Tools

Text-mining tools

Job description

Overview

Certara accelerates medicines using proprietary biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development. Its clients include more than 2,000 biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies across 62 countries.

The Quantitative Systems Toxicology (QSTS) team are constructing a ‘QSTR Dashboard’, comprising two types of machine learning tools based on molecular features. These are (1) QSAR models, predicting K i at off‑target receptors in the Bowes Panel and (2) QSTR models, predicting toxicity/absence of toxicity for specific toxicities (such as hepatotoxicity; phototoxicity; seizure; peripheral neuropathy; etc.).

Responsibilities

The role will involve curation of data for both types of model, focusing initially on the QSAR models. For these, structure‑activity data will be curated from medicinal chemistry publications and from IUPHAR‑BPS and ChEMBL. For the QSTR models, data will be curated from drug labels, drugs@fda, FAERS and SIDER (etc.). The role will also involve learning how to build and test the models, and use of text‑mining tools to assist with the data curation.

Qualifications

The candidate will be educated to MSc level with a strong pharmacology knowledge and previous experience of data curation. They will be expected to present their work to colleagues for feedback.

Certara bases all employment‑related decision on merit, taking into consideration qualifications, skills, achievement, and performance. We treat all applicants and employees without regard to personal characteristics such as race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, nationality, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental condition, genetic information, military service, or other characteristic protected by law.