AstraZeneca launches global postdoc challenge

Successful applicants will benefit from a fully funded post-doctoral research position and become part of the vibrant scientific community at AstraZeneca. The researchers, working alongside a leading university, will have access to in-house new expertise, vehicles, tools and technologies, as well as mentor support to develop their own creativity and innovation.

In this context, Sir Maine Bangalos, Executive Vice President, Biopharmaceutical Research and Development at AstraZeneca, said, “The events of the past two years have demonstrated that it is more necessary than ever to push the frontiers of medical science. Rapid advances in the understanding of diseases, combined with advances in Science and technology, is truly changing our expectations of what is possible,” expressing his pride in launching the “Postdoctoral Research and Development Challenge to support and help the next generation of scientific leaders to turn their concepts into real benefits for patients.”
Selected candidates will have the opportunity to present their research to a panel of AstraZeneca executives and outside life sciences industry leaders in October, while finalists will be determined later in the year, the community explains, noting that nominations will be considered on the basis of scientific merit and ability to make a difference. Real impact on patients and community health systems.

This initiative is part of AstraZeneca’s Early Talent Programs, which aim to nurture the scientific leaders of tomorrow and encourage a diversity of thought in an environment conducive to the flourishing of science.

The company has three world-class strategic research and development centers, including the Discovery Center (DISC) in Cambridge, UK, one in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Washington DC in the US, and another in Gothenburg, Sweden, as well as other centers around the world. It has integrated research and development teams, accelerated decision-making processes, and leveraged its unique scientific capabilities, to deliver one of the most productive pipelines in the industry.

Since 2005, AstraZeneca has increased nearly sixfold the proportion of its molecules in development that have moved from preclinical study to completion of phase III clinical trials – from 4% to 23%. This improvement places AstraZeneca well above the current industry average success rate of 14% for the 2018-2020 period.

Of the company’s 80,000 employees, more than 13,000 are engaged exclusively in research and development. In 2021, scientists published a total of 871 manuscripts, including 196 in high-impact journals (impact factor greater than or equal to 15 as assessed by Reuters over a five-year period), up from one in 2010.