Study Director

Barrington James Drug Discovery & Preclinical; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Barrington James Drug Discovery & Preclinical is seeking an experienced in vivo pharmacologist with kidney disease expertise to lead complex preclinical studies from design to delivery. You will advise clients, select models, and oversee translational renal projects, mentoring junior staff and shaping study strategy.

The role requires hands-on in vivo work, deep knowledge of renal biology, and proven leadership in scientific projects with client-facing responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on in vivo pharmacology experience is essential.
• Significant experience working with kidney/renal disease models in vivo.
• Strong understanding of renal biology and kidney disease mechanisms.
• Previous experience designing, overseeing or interpreting complex in vivo studies.
• Ability to confidently advise clients on kidney study strategy, model selection and experimental design.
• Experience in Study Director, Principal Scientist or equivalent leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Act as the subject matter expert for in vivo kidney studies, advising clients on study strategy, design and appropriate models.
• Lead the design and delivery of complex in vivo pharmacology studies focused on renal disease and kidney biology.
• Provide scientific guidance on the selection, development and optimisation of kidney disease models and relevant endpoints.
• Work directly with clients to understand their scientific objectives and translate these into robust, achievable in vivo study plans.
• Oversee study execution, ensuring studies are scientifically rigorous, appropriately controlled and delivered to a high standard.
• Interpret and critically evaluate in vivo data, providing clear scientific conclusions and recommendations to clients.
• Present study findings and act as a trusted scientific advisor throughout client programmes.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across pharmacology, biology and other preclinical disciplines.
• Support the development of new kidney‑focused study capabilities and approaches.
• Mentor and provide scientific guidance to junior scientists and study teams.

Skills

In vivo pharmacology

Kidney disease models

Renal biology

Study design

Client advisory

Scientific leadership

Mentoring

Job description

Are you an experienced in vivo pharmacologist with specialist expertise in kidney disease?

We are supporting an organisation seeking a Study Director to provide scientific leadership across a range of preclinical kidney studies. This is a highly technical and client-facing role for someone who can use their hands‑on in vivo experience and knowledge of renal biology to design, advise on and oversee complex studies from concept through to delivery.

About the Role

You will be responsible for providing expert input across the full study lifecycle, from study design and model selection through to interpretation of in vivo data and delivery of scientific conclusions.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the subject matter expert for in vivo kidney studies, advising clients on study strategy, design and appropriate models.
• Lead the design and delivery of complex in vivo pharmacology studies focused on renal disease and kidney biology.
• Provide scientific guidance on the selection, development and optimisation of kidney disease models and relevant endpoints.
• Work directly with clients to understand their scientific objectives and translate these into robust, achievable in vivo study plans.
• Oversee study execution, ensuring studies are scientifically rigorous, appropriately controlled and delivered to a high standard.
• Interpret and critically evaluate in vivo data, providing clear scientific conclusions and recommendations to clients.
• Present study findings and act as a trusted scientific advisor throughout client programmes.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across pharmacology, biology and other preclinical disciplines.
• Support the development of new kidney‑focused study capabilities and approaches.
• Mentor and provide scientific guidance to junior scientists and study teams.

What We're Looking For

• Strong hands‑on in vivo pharmacology experience is essential
• Significant experience working with kidney/renal disease models in vivo.
• Strong understanding of renal biology and kidney disease mechanisms.
• Previous experience designing, overseeing or interpreting complex in vivo studies.
• Ability to confidently advise clients on kidney study strategy, model selection and experimental design.
• Experience working in a Study Director, Principal Scientist or equivalent scientific leadership role.
• Excellent scientific communication skills, with the ability to explain complex in vivo data clearly to both scientific and client audiences.
• A collaborative, commercially aware approach with the confidence to act as a trusted scientific advisor to clients.

The Ideal Candidate

This role would suit someone who is not simply experienced in running in vivo studies, but who can take ownership of the scientific strategy behind kidney programmes.

You will need to be confident answering questions such as which kidney model should we use, what endpoints should we measure, how should the study be designed, and what does the resulting data tell us?