Director, Translational Medicine and Hematopathology Lead

WHY JOIN US?
 

At AstraZeneca, we are dedicated to being a Great Place to Work, where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. With an ambitious goal of delivering 20 new medicines by 2030, there is no better place to make a difference in medicine, for patients, and in society.

Join us on this exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare. Our inclusive culture champions diversity and collaboration, and we are always committed to lifelong learning, growth, and development. As part of our team, you'll contribute to groundbreaking advancements that will shape a healthier future for people everywhere. Be a catalyst for change at AstraZeneca, where your work will have a real impact on improving people's lives.

Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week. Our head office is purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.
 

About the Opportunity:
In this hybrid Director-level role, you will lead both program-level translational strategy and hematopathology support across Translational Medicine, Hematology. You will own biomarker strategy end to end, spanning assay design and validation, clinical deployment, and decision-enabling data generation from early development through late-stage trials. Partnering with a small team of pathologists and assay scientists, as well as external labs and CROs, you will ensure delivery of fit-for-purpose HemePath assays (IHC/IF/Flow) and high-quality data that drives patient selection, pharmacodynamic insights, mechanism-of-action understanding, and resistance monitoring.
 

What You’ll Do:

• Drive Translational Strategy: Lead end-to-end translational planning for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma programs from preclinical through Phase 3. Embed biomarkers into study protocols and analysis plans, define decision points, and integrate cytokine, flow, and other readouts to inform efficacy, safety, and pharmacodynamics.
   

• Lead Hematopathology Capabilities: Own the heme pathology assay roadmap across IHC, IF, and flow cytometry. Oversee assay validation, quality control, and performance monitoring across internal labs and CRO partners. Set interpretation standards and ensure audit-ready pathology and immunophenotyping outputs.
   

• Enable Patient Selection: Design and validate assays for patient selection and enrichment, such as antigen-expression or MRD-based strategies. Partner closely with Precision Medicine and Biosamples teams on documentation, traceability, and potential CDx development.
   

• Shape Portfolio & Cross-Functional Strategy: Collaborate with Oncology Research, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and Product Development to align translational and pathology strategies with program goals. Lead internal/external collaborations, steer vendors, and represent the organization at scientific forums.
   

Essential Qualifications:

• MD (Pathology) with Hematopathology board certification (or international equivalent); or MD/PhD with substantial hematopathology leadership in clinical trials. Exceptional PhD candidates with deep heme pathology and assay leadership experience may be considered.

• 5+ years of pharma/biotech oncology drug development with in-depth translational hematology/oncology expertise.

• Proven record of designing, validating, and operationalizing clinical trial assays, including patient selection/enrichment.

• Experience with T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, and/or cell therapies; understanding of resistance mechanisms.

• Strong communication and influence skills; ability to guide decisions at study and program governance forums.

• People leadership experience and vendor/CRO oversight; track record of delivering across multi program portfolios.
   

Demonstrated leadership of HemePath assays:

• IHC/IF for hematologic malignancies and TME features

• Flow cytometry for blood and bone marrow, including rare event detection and MRD-adjacent panels
   

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Expertise across myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma, including disease-specific immunophenotyping.

• Digital Pathology and AI/ML Integration experience: automated image analysis and/or knowledge of AI/ML tools for pathology interpretation and biomarker scoring; implementation o