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Alchemab Therapeutics
Industrial Placement Student – Discovering Novel Antibody Targets in Disease Resilience
Location: Whittlesford, Cambridge, UK
Start Date:
September 2025 | Duration: 9-12 months
Department: Research & Technology Teams
About Alchemab
Alchemab Therapeutics is a pioneering biotech company based in Cambridge, UK. We use a unique platform to identify novel drug targets and therapeutics by analysing antibody repertoires of patients who are resilient to disease. Our work spans neurodegeneration and oncology, built on a foundation of deep science, cutting-edge technology, and a passionate team committed to transforming lives.
Led by world-renowned scientist Dr. Jane Osbourn, our team is driven by four core values:
🧬
Think Patient First
– Everything we do is rooted in positively impacting patients.
🤝 Achieve As One – Collaboration and mutual support power our progress.
💪 Embrace Responsibility – Every team member is empowered to make a difference.
🌱 Create Something Enduring – We're building solutions for today and tomorrow.
The Industrial Placement Programme
We’re looking for highly motivated individuals ready to take on a meaningful challenge and join us as Industrial Placement students. Our 9-12 month placement programme offers a unique opportunity to step into the world of drug discovery and gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced biotech environment.
During your placement, you’ll work on a dedicated project with the support of a collaborative and experienced team. You’ll play a key role in contributing to our mission and vision, while being guided by experts who are passionate about mentoring and sharing knowledge.
You’ll be immersed in exciting and impactful scientific work, developing innovative solutions as part of a multidisciplinary team. Alongside your project work, you’ll receive regular coaching and support to help you achieve both your objectives and personal development goals.
This is more than just a placement—it’s a chance to build skills, grow your network, and lay the foundations for a successful future career. You’ll be surrounded by curious, passionate, and open-minded colleagues who are eager to learn, explore science, and grow together in a truly collaborative culture.
The role will be in the Research (Target Deconvolution) and Technology Teams, predominantly focused on the following project:
🔍 Industrial Placement Student – Discovering Novel Antibody Targets in Disease Resilience
🔍 Project Overview
Curious about how your immune system shapes resilience to diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s? Join us at Alchemab and explore how adaptive immune responses may offer unexpected protection in neurodegeneration and oncology.
This cutting-edge project will investigate specific antibody responses that can play a protective role in disease. You'll work hands-on with patient samples and our innovative antigen display platforms while developing key lab and computational skills that are highly sought after in biotech and biomedical research.
🧠 Scientific Background & Project Aims
At Alchemab, we specialise in identifying protective auto-antibodies in individuals who are resilient to disease through analysis of large B cell receptor sequence datasets. To uncover the targets they bind to and therefore the function of these antibodies, they are screened against a large collection (i.e. library) of proteins. We are constantly improving and evolving this screening technology. This project will involve the expansion and testing of our protein library to enable us to identify novel therapeutic targets.
🎯 Project Goals
🧪 Techniques You’ll Learn
This is an interdisciplinary project offering experience in both wet lab and dry lab environments, and you’ll be supported by a collaborative, cross-functional team.
Target Deconvolution Team - Lab Techniques
· Antigen library preparation and display, cell culture.
· Flow cytometry.
· Sanger and next-generation sequencing (NGS).
· Molecular biology (e.g. DNA purification, qPCR).
· Use of laboratory automation systems.
Tech Team - Computational & Data Analysis
· Classic and AI-assisted literature review.
· Introduction to R or Python for data analysis and visualisation.
· Bioinformatics for analysis of protein sequences (BLAST, multiple sequence alignment, UniProt).
· Quality Control and processing of sequencing data.
· Gaining familiarity with cloud-based tools and custom software pipelines.
· Introduction to machine learning models used in antibody discovery.
💡 Why This Placement Is Ideal for You
This is an exciting opportunity for you if you're passionate about immunology, bioinformatics, or the intersection between the immune system and chronic disease. You’ll gain experience across two departments (Target Deconvolution and Tech) and develop both practical and analytical skills that will set you up for any future career in biotech or research.
You’ll also have the chance to present your work, contribute to experimental design, and liaise with other internal teams, such as Protein Sciences and Expression and Early Development (EED). This will give you a full overview of the antibody discovery process. Know-how and reagents are already available so you can get going from day one.
🧬 Value to Alchemab
This project will help us assess the potential of a novel antigen library as a tool to identify resilience-linked immune responses. It will enable future screens that reveal protective immune patterns and new therapeutic targets.
Benefits include:
This is early exploratory work—but with real-world potential to inform new scientific directions and strengthen our discovery platform.
✅ Requirements
🌿 Where You’ll Be Working
You’ll be based in Whittlesford, just south of Cambridge, in a state-of-the-art biotech facility surrounded by peaceful countryside. With Whittlesford Parkway station just a short walk away, commuting is easy, with direct links to Cambridge and London.
Our location offers the best of both worlds—a cutting-edge research environment in a scenic setting, perfect for collaboration, innovation, and even a refreshing lunchtime walk! Join us and be part of something truly exciting.
🎉 Connecting, Celebrating, and Giving Back
At Alchemab, we believe that great science thrives in a strong, connected community. Our Social and Charity Committees bring people together beyond the lab, organising exciting events, activities, and fundraising initiatives that make a real difference. From social gatherings and wellness activities to charity challenges and volunteering, there's always something happening to build friendships, have fun, and give back. Our vibrant culture ensures that everyone feels part of something bigger—both inside and outside of work!
Please note:
The successful candidate will be employed by SRG and based on-site at Alchemab Therapeutics. Candidate details will only be shared with SRG at the offer stage, in line with data protection standards.
Recruitment Process: