This opportunity is available at our Durham, NC or Gaithersburg, MD locations.

Do you have expertise in, and passion for, the COA/Digital Health field? Would you like to apply your expertise to impact the digital health pipeline in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then AstraZeneca might be the one for you!

We’re building out a best-in-class Measurement Science team to support the R&D portfolio as well as digital therapeutics, which will be part of the future of measurement science and analytics to support novel endpoints and interventions.

Digital health, the point at which healthcare, technology, data and analytics converge, is the subject of great promise, with the World Health Organisation believing it has the potential to improve health for everyone. At AstraZeneca, we’ve been working hard to make this a reality, with the years of experience we have accumulated enabling us to now embed digital health at scale across R&D. To achieve our goal of improving patient experience and outcomes AstraZeneca has Digital Health as one of the top 4 strategic priorities for the company, details on digital health strategy can be found here. Oncology is the largest therapeutic area within AstraZeneca and second highest cause of death globally, with AstraZeneca’s ambition to eliminate cancer as a cause of death.

A Senior Scientist in the Digital Health Center of Excellence for Measurement Science group should have experience in the use of clinical outcomes assessments (COA) such as traditional survey-like instruments using rating or ranking scales and/or COA along with novel sensor/wearable data capture tools to inform identification and/or evaluation of symptoms, function, health-related quality of life, or other patient-centric concepts of clinical benefit/risk throughout the oncology drug development lifecycle. With supervision, the Senior Scientist will be responsible for providing qualitative and quantitative measurement support for the development and execution of patient-centered measurement strategies and dissemination of findings to key stakeholders, such as R&D global and/or cross-functional teams, regulators, payers, healthcare professionals and most importantly patients in support of more efficient identification of treatment benefits vs risks in Oncology. This includes but is not limited to: identification and exploration of unmet measurement need by conducting literature reviews, qualitative research studies and/or developing an analytic plan and conducting quantitative analyses, description of context of use (e.g., selection of responders for fit-for-purpose use of Patient-Reported Outcomes, Observer-Reported Outcomes, Clinician-Reported Outcomes, or Performance Outcome assessments, selection of data collection strategy and implementation in clinical research or real world setting, collaboration for data analyses and interpretation and audience-adapted publications. Critically, with supervision, senior scientists will be expected to partner with scientific leaders within the organization to identify specific areas of interest for professional development, with the ultimate goal of becoming a recognized leader in the COA/digital health field.

As the Senior Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in channelling our scientific capabilities to make a positive impact on changing patients’ lives through the following:

• Contribute to qualitative and quantitative research to generate evidence of patients' experience with treatment throughout the oncology drug development lifecycle (e.g., identification and exploration of unmet measurement need, endpoints capturing symptoms, function, or quality of life evolution overtime to inform disease progression or tolerability) including study design/oversight and data collection

• With supervision, responsible for project management of functional service provider(s) for qualitative and quantitative research to inform development of conceptual disease-models and related endpoints to address measurement gap to inform the patients' experience with treatment.

• With supervision, contribute to the exploration of COA in clinical research to inform clinical benefit evaluation of oncology treatment, including: measurement performance evaluation of symptom(s), function and health-related quality of life instruments, definition or development of novel COA endpoints to address evidence needs from key stakeholders, and data collection to inform decision making related to the inclusion of COA endpoints and findings in major deliverables such as: clinical development plans, study protocols, and strategic and operational reports.

• With support from line management, partner with scientific leaders within Digital Health Oncology to identify, pursue, and develop independent scientific expertise within the COA and digital health fields.

• Collaborate and partner with key internal stakeholder colleagues to ensure priorities and strategies are aligned.

• Prepare, review, and publish scientific reports, internal/ conference presentations, publications, regulatory dossiers reflecting ongoing or completed work, with supervision.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Combination of academic training and practical experience in outcomes research:

  • Bachelors degree in a related field, plus 4 years practical experience

• Experience in performing outcomes research, in any setting, including life sciences companies, research organizations, academic institutions or governmental agencies, including experience in interpreting COA data from clinical research and communicating scientific evidence.

• Experience conducting structured literature reviews, qualitative research, and quantitative analyses

• Working knowledge of Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD) FDA Guidance documents and other relevant guidance documents and best practices to capture patient's experience in drug lifecycle

• Project management and vendor management skills

• Conceptual, analytical and critical thinking

• Creative, innovative, and solution-focused

• Curious, embraces new ways of problem solving, new ideas, and new ways of working

• Strong communication skills, the ability to build relationships with cross-functional partners and stakeholders

Desirable Qualifications:

• Masters degree in a related field, plus practical experience

• Prior experience conducting outcomes research studies and communication of study findings to internal and external audiences

• Experience with the development, selection, and psychometric evaluation of PRO instruments used in clinical studies

• Experience conducting qualitative interviews with patients and clinicians and performing qualitative data analysis

• Experience conducting outcomes research in different geographic regions and interacting with regulators and policy-makers

• Diligence - attention to detail and ability to manage a program of concurrent activities

• Resilience - ability to overcome and motivate others in the face of a changing environment

Why AstraZeneca

At AstraZeneca when we see an opportunity for change, we seize it and make it happen, because any opportunity no matter how small, can be the start of something big. Delivering life-changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial - finding those moments and recognising their potential. Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organisation to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we’re opening new ways to work, pioneering innovative methods and bringing unexpected teams together. Interested? Come and join our journey.

So, what’s next?

Are you ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the table? Brilliant! We have one seat available and we hope it’s yours.

Where can I find out more?

Our Social Media, Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/1603/

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