Working life and benefits

As a world-leading cancer research organisation, The Institute of Cancer Research is a dynamic and exciting place to work. We provide exceptional opportunities for the best scientists, clinicians, and professional and administrative staff, as well as excellent academic and recreational facilities at our two London sites, in Chelsea and Sutton.

World-leading research institute

The ICR is the leading academic research centre in the UK. Effective industry collaboration and innovation in new medicines and technologies are at the heart of our approach to drive benefits for patients.

The ICR is ranked:

  • second for research quality, impact and environment*
  • first for biological sciences*
  • third for research impact*
  • first worldwide for the number of our publications cited in patents**
  • fourth worldwide for the citation rate of scientific research published across all fields**
  • fourth worldwide for top-cited research publications**
  • in the top five higher education institutions worldwide for academic influence and commercial impact** 

The majority of our employees work in research, but there are also important roles in scientific facilities, academic services, IT, fundraising, communication, human resources, and within our business and innovation office, which negotiates between ICR scientists and industry.

See more about working with us

We aim to make the discoveries that defeat cancer by attracting, retaining and developing the best minds with excellent benefits and working environments.

Just some of our current vacancies

Postdoctoral Training Fellow

  • Chelsea
  • Structural Biology
  • Salary Range: £45,600 - £55,000 per annum
  • Fixed term

Under the leadership of Claudio Alfieri, we are seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Training Fellow to join the Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Cycle Regulation Group at the Chester Beatty Laboratories, Fulham Road in London. This project aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle regulation by macromolecular complexes involved in cell proliferation decisions, by combining genome engineering, proteomics and in situ structural biology. For general information on Post Doc's at The ICR can be found here. Key Requirements The successful candidate must have a PhD in cellular biochemistry and experience in Cryo-EM and CLEM is desirable. The ICR has a workforce agreement stating that Postdoctoral Training Fellows can only be employed for up to 7 years as PDTF at the ICR, providing total postdoctoral experience (including previous employment at this level elsewhere) does not exceed 7 years Department/Directorate Information: The candidate will work in the Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Cycle Regulation Group within the ICR Division of Structural Biology headed by Prof. Laurence Pearl and Prof. Sebastian Guettler. The division has state-of-the-art facilities for protein expression and biophysics/x-ray crystallography, in particular the Electron Microscopy Facility is equipped with a Glacios 200kV with Falcon 4i detector with Selectris energy filter and the ICR has access to Krios microscopes via eBIC and the LonCEM consortium. We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Claudio Alfieri via Email on [email protected]

Higher Scientific Officer - Drug Discovery Biology, Centre for Protein Degradation

  • Sutton
  • Cancer Therapeutics
  • £39,805 - £49,023
  • Fixed term

We are seeking to recruit a Higher Scientific Officer within the Induced Proximity Therapeutics (IPT) Team in the ICR Centre for Protein Degradation to support our molecular glue and PROTAC drug discovery projects and expand induced proximity technology. The IPT team focuses on three main areas of research: Cancer target validation Screening, profiling and molecular mechanism of action of molecular glue and PROTAC degraders Novel E3 ligase biology and ligand discovery The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary team and play a key role in target validation, developing in vitro and cell-based assays, and pharmacological characterisation of novel molecular glue degraders and PROTACs, but may also contribute to other activities. About you The successful candidate: Will be a strong team player who is technically minded and passionate about science and cancer drug discovery Will hold a first degree, and preferably a PhD, in biological science or biochemistry Will have experience in cancer biology/target validation, genetic manipulation techniques, in vitro and cell-based assay development and pharmacological compound profiling Experience in targeted protein degradation will be a significant advantage. Department/Directorate Information This position will be based in the ICR's Centre for Protein Degradation, a part of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery (CCDD) specialising in developing novel drug modalities that re-wire tumour cells' signalling by targeted degradation of key oncogenic drivers. Our experienced biologists work closely with medicinal chemists, biophysicists, computational scientists, oncology specialists and physicians on discovering new medicines - molecular glue degraders and PROTACs - using innovative screening platforms and characterising their mechanisms of action, as well as expanding the repertoire of novel degradable drug targets and E3 ligases (enzymes that mediate protein degradation). Our research provides a nucleus for the academics and pharmaceutical industry to explore therapeutic potential of targeted protein degradation from laboratory hypothesis-testing to early clinical trials, for the benefit of cancer patients. What we offer A dynamic and supportive research environment in one of the successful academic cancer drug discovery centres in the UK Access to state-of-the-art facilities and professional development Collaboration with leading drug discovery and oncology scientist Competitive salary and pension To learn more about this role, please download the attached job pack. For informal inquiries, please contact Dr Agnieszka Konopacka, Group Leader, Induced Proximity Therapeutics, Centre for Protein Degradation via email: [email protected].

Postdoctoral Training Fellow - Medicinal Chemistry

  • Sutton
  • Medicinal Chemistry
  • £45,600
  • Fixed term

Under the guidance of Dr Gurdip Bhalay, we are looking for a talented synthetic chemist with an interest in medicinal chemistry to join a project team focussing on the design and application of small molecules in immuno-oncology, which seeks to harness the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells. Our aim is to use multi-parameter optimisation in conjunction with structure-based drug design to generate high quality pre-clinical candidate drugs. About you The successful candidate will work as part of a multidisciplinary project team to use in house data and structural information to design new molecules then develop and execute synthetic routes to make these compounds in the lab. The candidate will develop their existing skills in organic chemistry as well as their knowledge and experience of applied medicinal chemistry. Candidates who are nearing completion of their PhD may apply, but confirmation on awarded PhD is required within 6 months of employment. The ICR has a workforce agreement stating that Postdoctoral Training Fellows can only be employed for up to 7 years as PDTF at the ICR, providing total postdoctoral experience (including previous employment at this level elsewhere) does not exceed 7 years. For general information on Postdocs at The ICR, more information can be found here. Department/Directorate Information The Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, within the Division of Cancer Therapeutics, is a multidisciplinary 'bench to bedside' centre, comprising around 200 staff dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The Cancer Therapeutics Unit’s exciting goal is to discover high quality drug candidates for validated biological targets and to progress these candidates to clinical trial. All the scientific disciplines are in place to make this possible. Our world-class biologists, chemists and drug metabolism specialists work together focusing on new molecular targets emerging from human genome and ground breaking cell biology research. This is an exciting and fast moving area of cancer research, and offers the opportunity to work within a multi-disciplinary environment using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment. Department/Directorate Information: Medicinal Chemistry Team 1 is one of several medicinal chemistry teams based on our Sutton site, in state-of-the-art laboratories, in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery. What we offer A dynamic and supportive research environment Access to state-of-the-art facilities and professional development opportunities Collaboration with leading researchers in the field Competitive salary and pension We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close the advert before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. Therefore we advise that you to submit your application, as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Clinical Trial Manager

  • Sutton
  • Adult Drug Development Unit
  • £39,805 - £49,023
  • Fixed term

Summary of Role The Institute of Cancer Research is looking for a Senior Clinical Trials Manager to join The Drug Development Unit (DDU) at its Sutton site in Surrey to work within the unit’s investigator-sponsored studies team. The successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day management of allocated Phase I clinical trials to ensure successful and timely trial delivery ensuring compliance with GCP and UK Clinical Trials legislation. Key Requirements You should be a graduate in a life science or health related subject and have an understanding of Good Clinical Practice and the drug development process. This post is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic and well-motivated person to work in the largest academic Drug Development Unit in Europe. Excellent interpersonal skills are required, as is the ability to work to high standards across a variety of tasks with constant regard to scientific and regulatory requirements. Minimum of a first degree or equivalent qualification in biomedical sciences or an allied subject (including health care disciplines). Department/Directorate Information This position is within the Investigator Initiated Trial Team of the joint ICR/RM Drug Development Unit. The Drug Development Unit, led by Professor Johann de Bono aims to seamlessly integrate preclinical drug discovery, proof-of-principle phase I trials and tumour-specific evaluation of novel agents. It is a conduit for the two-way communication between laboratory and clinical teams that is so essential for successful modern drug development. The unit conducts first-in-man phase I trials involving a range of targets, including growth factor or intracellular signalling, angiogenesis, apoptosis, epigenetics and DNA repair. All trials are underpinned by extensive analysis of biomarkers, both predictive and pharmacodynamics. The DDU includes The Oak Foundation Drug Development Centre (Oak Ward) housed within The Royal Marsden at the Sutton site and specifically designed for phase I clinical trials. Opened in February 2005, the centre provides 10 inpatient beds, five treatment chairs and two outpatient suites, and allows researchers to enter almost 300 patients onto phase I trials each year. This makes the unit one of the largest of its kind in the world. The DDU also has portfolio of investigator-initiated trials of novel targeted agents and combinations of these, working with the ECMC network across the UK and with other Phase I units internationally. These studies are centrally managed by a dedicated team within the DDU that performs those functions associated with sponsoring early phase trials including project management, monitoring, pharmacovigilance, database development and central data review. The successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day management of allocated Phase I clinical trials to ensure successful and timely trial delivery ensuring with GCP and UK Clinical Trials legislation. We encourage all applicants to access the job pack, linked, for more detailed information on this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact the recruiting team via Email on [email protected] To apply for this post, please submit an online application including a supporting statement, detailing reasons why you are applying for the post and with your CV. We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact the recruiting team by email on [email protected]