Research Leader / Senior Research Investigator - Translational Biology & In-Vitro Pharmacology

Your Impact

Isomorphic Labs is seeking an outstanding Senior Drug Discovery Biologist in London to join a newly established therapeutic area focused on maximizing healthspan. Driven by our mission to solve all disease, we are dedicating targeted efforts to address high-impact indications in regenerative health—spanning musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and systemic conditions. Rather than a general longevity initiative, this represents a focused strategic drive to target critical disease areas that impact healthspan.

This role is ideally suited for a seasoned translational scientist and pharmacologist adept at designing fit-for-purpose screening cascades and translational strategies who is equally comfortable working on programs at hit Identification, lead optimisation and candidate selection stages. It requires a strong combination of quantitative in-vitro pharmacology expertise (across biophysical, biochemical, and/or cell-based functional assays) and deep translational biology experience relevant to this exciting therapeutic area. Your expertise will be crucial in generating robust experimental evidence to confirm that our ML-designed medicines achieve their desired Target Product Profiles (TPPs).

This presents an exciting opportunity to collaborate closely with world-leading AI, ML, computational biology, and drug design experts, developing imaginative new approaches to test biological hypotheses and fostering a deep mechanistic understanding of drug-target interactions in disease to propel our projects forward. You will play a pivotal role in defining screening cascades and establishing translational strategies, advancing our expanding internal and partnership portfolios from early drug discovery through candidate selection and ultimately into clinical phases. Ideal candidates will possess broad experience across drug discovery projects and the ability to think both critically and originally, discerning when to apply innovative ideas and embracing a beginner's mindset.

What You Will Do

• Design and implement efficient, fit-for-purpose biological screening cascades for a diverse range of internal and partnered drug design programs from Hit Identification through to Candidate Selection, with a keen focus on translating quantitative in-vitro pharmacology and preclinical studies into clinical efficacy within the target patient population.
• Provide deep technical and strategic expertise across biochemical, biophysical, and cellular functional assays for diverse protein targets to characterize compound mechanism of action (MoA), potency, selectivity, and structure-activity relationships (SAR).
• Play a pivotal role in defining the most appropriate translational model paradigms (e.g., in vivo disease models, ex-vivo patient-derived tissue, iPSC-derived systems, and complex 3D organoids) for each project's translational package in the maximised Healthspan therapeutic area developing biomarker strategies to secure early clinical proof of concept.
• Collaborate with Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and external partners to design critical decision-making experiments, overseeing assay development, validation, and troubleshooting to ensure the delivery of the highest quality biological data to guide the path to the clinic.
• Work in conjunction with our business development team to scientifically assess collaborative opportunities to co-develop medicines to maximise healthspan
• Work  with external drug discovery teams to progress programs
• Provide invaluable scientific expertise to the AI/ML and computational biology teams in a bidirectional experimental-computational feedback loop, supporting the development and refinement of world-leading models of biological systems.
• Distill complex pharmacological and translational biological data into actionable insights and strategic recommendations for project leaders, team members, ML researchers, and external partners.
• Be intimately integrated within, or lead, multidisciplinary drug discovery projects to provide strategic biological input that ensures project success from early discovery through to clinical candidate nomination.
• Contribute to pertinent internal candidate nomination packages and supporting regulatory documentation (e.g., IND/CTA filings) for both preclinical and clinical work.
• Engage in close cross-functional collaboration with our Drug Design, Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK/ADMET, and Technology teams.

Skills and Qualifications

Essential:

• BSc, MSc, or PhD in Pharmacology, Cellular/Molecular Biology, Physiology, Neuroscience, or a relevant field of biology.
• Extensive hands-on and strategic pharmaceutical/biotech experience in the design and implementation of biological screening cascades applied to drug design projects across Hit Identification, Hit-to-Lead, Lead Optimisation, and Candidate Selection phases..
• Deep knowledge of experimental in-vitro pharmacology techniques—including biophysical, biochemical, and cellular functional assays (such as ELISA, HTRF, FP, Cellular Proliferation/Health, nanoBRET, High Content Screening, Reporter Gene, and primary human cell assays)—with proven ability to select and interpret the right assays for diverse target classes and biological contexts.
• A profound understanding of target, mechanism, and disease interdependencies, coupled with expert knowledge of innovative translational models in relevant areas for maximised Healthspan such as musculoskeletal & regenerative health Or pulmonary/systemic disease.
• Experience in project leadership or leading biology within drug discovery programs,  with a track record of contributing to projects from inception through to Clinical Candidate delivery.
• Extensive experience in developing Target Product Profiles (TPPs) and translating them into lean, impactful biological screening cascades to guide drug development toward clinically meaningful medicines.
• A proven track record in constructing comprehensive translational data packages, target liability assessments, and clinical biomarker strategies (target engagement, pharmacodynamic, and patient stratification biomarkers) to inform clinical trial design.
• Experience in designing PK/PD experiments to establish quantitative exposure-target engagement-efficacy relationships for human dose prediction, collaborating closely with ADMET, formulation, and clinical pharmacology specialists to refine preclinical and clinical strategies.
• The ability to collaboratively phase in-vitro pharmacology and translational biology activities, meticulously and proactively considering interdependencies to efficiently generate decision-quality data.
• Demonstrated experience working with CROs in acquiring, quality-controlling, and interpreting high-quality biological data in a timely manner.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work with co-development partners to progress drug discovery programs within drug discovery team comprising of internal and external stakeholders 
• A dynamic, agile, and flexible individual capable of navigating numerous projects, diverse therapeutic areas, and multidisciplinary teams with a driven, focused approach to Candidate delivery.
• Exceptional communication skills, fostering effective collaboration and shared learning across a broad interdisciplinary team (spanning discovery biologists, medicinal chemists, and computational/ML scientists) and with key stakeholders possessing diverse skills and backgrounds.

Nice to have:

• Demonstrated experience leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI tools to enhance scientific workflows within your domain of expertise (e.g., accelerating literature and target-landscape synthesis, streamlining experimental protocol and screening cascade design, automating pharmacological/biomarker data extraction, or enhancing hypothesis generation).
• A consistent track record of driving strategic de-risking, anticipating longer-term translational hurdles, and influencing medicinal chemistry SAR strategies across disciplines, supported by a solid understanding of small molecule medicinal chemistry and DMPK concepts.
• Working knowledge of designing and implementing assays and translational screening cascades for alternative modalities or novel chemistries (e.g., peptides, molecular glues, targeted protein degraders, ADCs, or oligonucleotides).
• Experience partnering with Computational Biology and Data Science groups in configuring systems for biological/pharmacological data ingestion and applying machine learning modeling concepts to biological systems and drug discovery.
• Practical experience in early target identification, causal genetic/functional validation, and indication selection approaches across multiple biological mechanisms and routes of administration.
• Expertise or working familiarity with protein expression/purification techniques and compound management workflows to support early assay setup and hit triage.
• Experience of working with business development to assess potential scientific or strategic opportunities in drug discovery