About Healx
Healx is an AI-powered tech bio company that is redesigning drug discovery. With 10,000 rare diseases affecting 400 million people globally, 90% of which have no approved treatment, Healx is on a mission to pioneer the next generation of drug discovery to help rare disease patients in need. We combine data, artificial intelligence and deep pharmacology expertise to develop treatments more quickly and cheaply than traditional drug discovery.
Diversity and inclusion sits at the heart of our mission to help people with rare diseases, and we believe that attracting and empowering a diverse team is critical to achieving this goal. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and walks of life.
Below we have included the qualities that we feel are required for you to excel in this role; however we appreciate that people can apply transferable skills from all walks of life and experience. If you think you have what it takes, love our mission and resonate with our values but are worried you don't tick every box – we still want to hear from you and encourage you to apply!
Our values
- Care for Rare – Rare disease patients are at the heart of what we do
- Grow as individuals – We are learners always seeking to enhance our expertise
- Win as a team – We strive to remain inclusive and diverse and we celebrate successes and lessons together
- Innovate and deliver – Our mission requires rapid innovation and calculated risks that won’t compromise our high standards
The role
Healx is looking for an enthusiastic Bioinformatician to join the Digital Sciences team to play a key role in Bioinformatic activities that improve outcomes for rare disease patients by discovering drug combination therapies with improved efficacy and safety over standard of care. This role will enhance the capabilities of our AI Drug Discovery Platform. You will support development of novel algorithms for the prediction of drug synergy and polypharmacology required by our growing portfolio of Rare Neurology and Oncology Programmes. You will partner closely with and report to the Senior Director of Digital Science to plan, develop and deliver algorithms and bioinformatic workflows that generate therapeutic hypotheses. You’ll be closely collaborating with Pharmacologists, Biocurators, Data Engineers, Bioinformaticians, Cheminformaticians and Machine Learning Engineers & Scientists to deliver in silico predictions that will be experimentally tested. Owing to the unique cross functional and highly collaborative Healx Team, the research you perform will be rapidly translated to meaningful outcomes, with the potential to improve patient quality of life.
Key Responsibilities
- Application of drug combination prediction algorithms to generate and rationalise novel therapeutic hypotheses for Healx portfolio of rare diseases
- Innovation and improvement of Healx drug combination technologies
- Supporting the Healx Preclinical Team to deliver the best outcomes for rare disease patients by ensuring our AI Discovery Platform is maintained
You will know you are successful when
- Digital Science delivers the best treatment predictions with highest chance of clinical and commercial success to our Pharmacologists
- Algorithm and workflow improvements you’ve contributed are applied in active Preclinical Discovery Programmes
- You are actively developing high quality code in collaboration with colleagues, and receiving great feedback on your commits
What We're Looking For
- You have experience in Biotech or Pharma Bioinformatics, a background in human disease biology, and you’re now looking for your next challenge. You are excited about taking on new projects and responsibilities in a mission-driven startup. We'd love to hear from you if your experience and interest overlaps with this profile:
- Bioinformatics, especially processing multiomics, compound bioactivities or other life sciences data for the discovery of drug combinations
- Reduction of algorithms to code, especially in Python, R, and Nextflow Pipelines
- Hands-on and collaborative approach to Bioinformatic algorithm and workflow development
- Interest in biotech/ techbio and its impact of improving patient outcomes
- It’s a bonus if you have:
- Experience estimating synergy, polypharmacology or adverse events
- Familiarity with network biology methods, elucidation of signalling pathways and gene set enrichment
- A keen interest in Bioinformatic Engineering standards
- A background in health-tech or life sciences
Working at Healx
Healx works from a modern accessible office in the centre of Cambridge within easy reach of the train station. We offer a flexible, diverse and inclusive working environment that considers your individual needs and believes in maintaining a sustainable work-life balance and we are open to discussing flexible working arrangements. You will be welcomed by a team of colleagues with decades of accumulated experience in their areas of expertise, happy to help you develop your own skills in a highly collaborative environment and who are keen to provide guidance and support in your personal and career development plans. Healx is a distributed team, and operates a hybrid working model. Healx will provide you with support and guidance to help you do your best work and make an impact. We offer flexible working and believe in maintaining a sustainable work-life balance. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know — we’re happy to accommodate
What’s On Offer
- Financial - Competitive salary, share options, 7% employer pension contributions, life insurance of 4x base salary
- Health and Wellbeing - Private medical insurance, 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with the option to purchase additional days to support a healthy work-life balance, wellbeing support via Spill and our Employee Assistance Programme
- Hybrid Working - Flexible and remote working options, home office set-up allowance, periodic in-person team days for company-wide collaboration and celebration
- Family Friendly - Enhanced family leave policies and flexible working practices
- Personal Development and Growth - Personal learning and development budgets, regular personal development conversations and career support
- Community Engagement and Support - One paid day off per year to volunteer for a cause aligned with our mission of supporting patients living with rare diseases; the opportunity to hear from and engage with patient groups and communities who offer us valuable insights into the experiences of those affected by rare diseases
