There is likely to be an increase in the life science vacancies in the UK if the latest report on the state of the sector is anything to go by. Research from the Science Industry Partnership (SIP) recently predicted that there will be demand for 133,000 jobs across the sector by 2030.
In its Life Sciences 2030 Skills Strategy, it predicted that there will be significant demand for skilled scientific staff during the next decade to both achieve the growth ambitions of the UK’s life sciences sector and replace workers who are retiring in the industry.
These vacancies will be for highly specialised roles within biopharmaceuticals manufacturing and research and development (R&D), medical R&D and manufacturing, and the services and supply chain.
SIP expects 90,000 of those roles to be required in med tech, while 43,000 will be in biopharmaceuticals.
The area that’s likely to require the greatest number of employees in the next ten years is the service and supply chain, with 52,400 of the 133,000 jobs expected to be in this area. 46,500 jobs, meanwhile, are expected to be created in the med tech manufacturing sector.
Biopharma R&D will require the third-largest number of employees, with 19,300 jobs anticipated in this field. There will be approximately 8,000 jobs in med tech R&D, as well as 6,400 in biopharma manufacturing.
Alex Felthouse, managing director of Eisai Manufacturing Ltd and chair of SIP Futures Group, said that the report highlights the need to focus on recruitment to the life sciences sector.
“To meet the demand that we have for the future we need to ensure that our industry is attractive to those who are considering joining the sector. We need to make them aware of all the fantastic opportunities there are across a diverse and exciting range of activities – from research and development through to medicines manufacturing,” he asserted.
The SIP report also laid out a series of recommendations, including rolling out an “attraction strategy” to promote work in the life sciences sector, and developing and funding a sector-based skills policy to ensure that candidates’ skills match the agendas of both businesses and the growth ambitions of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
Earlier this month, the government announced a £10 million scheme that will help researchers and businesses in the life sciences sector come together to “develop treatments and cures for those facing life-threatening conditions like cancer and dementia”.
Life sciences minister Nadhim Zahawi explained that the funding would be used to support secondments for academics who can help develop new technologies and techniques that can be offered to NHS patients. It’s known as the Innovation Scholars Scheme.
Mr Zahawi stated: “Collaboration is vital to growing this sector and this new £10 million scheme will support the exchanging of ideas, knowledge and skills between researchers and businesses, while encouraging strong collaboration with them, the NHS and the government.”
The government hopes that this boost in funding will help to transform patients’ lives and make new treatments available to patients more quickly.
A leading UK dementia charity has hopes to develop a smartwatch off the back of a new research project, that is capable of spotting the early signs of dementia, according to the BBC.
Alzheimer’s Research UK has aims to attract a million volunteers from across the UK to sign up for a programme which will gather and examine a wide range of clinical and digital data to facilitate the early detection of the neurodegenerative disease.
The smartwatch will collate data on such areas as sleep, gait, speech and eye movement will be tracked and analysed by teams of specialists, looking to spot patterns which may signify evidence of dementia – including its most common form, Alzheimer’s.
From this, ‘fingerprints’ – or common traits – will be developed to highlight initial signs. The objective is then to design a wearable device capable of detecting the fingerprints to enable early diagnosis.
The project forms part of a new global initiative, Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases (EDoN), which brings together a wealth of top health institutions – including the Alan Turning Institute, University College London and the University of Cambridge – to participate in the sharing of health data set to inform the research project.
It also aims to raise £100 million of investment by 2030 – £67 million over the next six years – to finance the research and development of the wearable technology and has already received funding from Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation.
Carol Routledge, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Our research shows that 85% of UK adults would be willing to take a test that could tell them if they were in the early stages of a disease like Alzheimer’s, even before symptoms show.
“EDoN aims to harness the growing popularity of digital health technology and big data to revolutionise how we develop early tests for these diseases.
“Developing digital fingerprints that can be detected using phone apps or wearable technologies like smartwatches would provide a low-cost approach to identifying those most at risk of disease.”
The University of Oxford’s Professor Chris Holmes – programme director for health at The Alan Turing Institute and an EDoN partner – added: “Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the learning opportunities from large scale data studies such as EDoN, by integrating information from multiple sources, this being an area of strength at the Turing.
“We will use AI to deliver new insights into the early signals of disease by combining digital data measurements with traditional sources such as brain imaging and memory tests. More accurate and timely detection will enable earlier enrolment for patients onto clinical trials and provide new scientific insight into the initial stages of diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
Around 50 million people are affected by dementia across the world, according to the World Health Organisation, with almost 10 million new cases of the syndrome emerging each year.
Forms such as Alzheimer’s can start to develop in the brain two years before evidence of symptoms, and experts now believe any future treatments will prove most effective when administered at the earliest stage possible.
If you’re looking for life sciences recruitment agencies in the UK, then get in touch today.
Job interviews can be very daunting, particularly if you’re not that experienced and are just starting out in your career. Nerves are to be expected, so if you are feeling a little anxious about it, don’t feel as though this is anything out of the ordinary… everyone applying for the position will be feeling exactly the same.
But there are ways in which you can help manage your nerves and give yourself the confidence to go into the interview – and one tactic you might not have considered before are power poses, exercises you can do that will give you a confidence boost, even if you’re not feeling that way on the inside.
The Wonder Woman Pose, for example, could make you feel more powerful. Simply stand with your hands on your hips and your feet spread wide apart for a few minutes and see how you feel afterwards. You could easily do this in the bathroom once you get to the job interview to help get you in the right mindset.
Recent research carried out by social psychologist Amy Cuddy found that body language can actually have an effect on our hormones and high power poses, such as the one described above, can increase your levels of testosterone – which can make you feel more confident and tolerant to risk.
The TED Talk she did on the subject is one of the most watched talks ever – so certainly worth watching if you are feeling nervous about an upcoming interview and want to maximise your chances of getting the job.
She recently spoke to Ted about her scientific paper and power poses in general, saying that the key finding of her research – and other studies – is that “adopting expansive postures causes people to feel more powerful”.
Ms Cuddy said: “As Maya Angelou wrote, “Stand up straight, and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances.” It’s not just about standing like a superhero for two minutes; it’s about carrying yourself with power and pride and poise, as you deserve to do.”
Another pose you could try, and one that you can easily do throughout the day if you feel like your confidence is wavering, is to press your fingertips together and spread your fingers apart, applying slight pressure at the tips as you do.
Or right before your interview, stand with your feet wide apart and stretch your arms over your head in a V shape, another open and expansive pose. You might want to find a private space to try this one, as you may not feel overly confident if your interviewer catches you in the act!
For advice relating to careers in animal research, get in touch with us today.
Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Centre in Houston (UTHealth) have found a way to distinguish between two progressive neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA)
The two diseases are challenging to differentiate as the early signs are similar – disturbances in movement, tremors, uncontrollable movements during sleep, impaired speech, etc. – but the diseases progress differently and can require distinct treatment plans.
“It is important for physicians to have an objective way to differentiate between PD and MSA in order to provide patients with the best care. Currently, the only way to differentiate them is to wait and see how the disease progresses, with MSA advancing much more rapidly than PD,” said Claudio Soto, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, according to Science Daily.
“By the time people show progressed symptoms of MSA, a substantial amount of brain cells are already damaged or dead, and they can’t be brought back. It has been difficult to develop a treatment for both diseases because of the high rates of misdiagnosis, so we needed to find a way to distinguish between the two at the onset of early symptoms.”
The technology developed by Soto, called Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA), was used to detect misfolded proteins associated with diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob and Alzheimer’s disease in previous studies. Researchers used the technology to develop a sensitive biochemical diagnosis for PD.
The technology can successfully discriminate between PD and MSA with 95.4 per cent sensitivity. which could allow doctors a look into the future to see which disease they need to address. The study also helps to understand the basis of these diseases at a molecular basis.
The research was funded in part by grants from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and the National Institute on Ageing.
If you’re looking for pharmaceutical recruitment agencies in the UK, get in touch with our team.
Interviews can be an intimidating experience at the best of times. To ensure you put in the best performance, there’s some simple steps to help, from researching the company you are meeting, and knowing what questions to ask. Scientific professionals recruitment experts have a guide for you.
There are a number of different interview types you could be offered. In most cases, you’ll only need to succeed at one of these to win that dream role. In some, particularly with large graduate employers, there may be several different interview formats.
The most common type is the face-to-face interview. You will attend the employers offices, where you will be questioned on your suitability for the role by an individual or an interview panel. A typical face-to-face interview can be anywhere between 45 minutes and two hours, and may include tests and exercises based on your strengths and competency.
Telephone interviews are common in the early stages of an application, usually to help filter down the number of applicants to a more manageable number. If successful, you would be then invited to a face-to-face interview. A telephone interview would typically last around 30 minutes. Video and Skype interviews are also becoming increasingly popular.
Assessment centres allow employers to compare the performances of many candidates at the same time. Along with other applicants, you could attend an assessment centre to take part in presentations, team exercises, and psychometric tests. Assessment centres usually take a full working day to complete.
Your interview performance can significantly depend on how well you have prepared. Never leave this until the last minute. In the days leading up to the interview focus research on the employer, to show what you know and understand about the business beyond the basics, such as competitors, the working culture, it’s challenges, and the job sector it operates in.
Make sure you read the job description fully, and re-read it again to refresh your memory, and to make sure you have the skills and qualifications that match the requirements of the role, and why the employers should hire you over the other candidates.
If you can find out who will be conducting the interview, then see if you can learn more about them. LinkedIn and the company’s ‘About Us’ section may have more information about individuals, to help discover more about their role in the business, their professional interests and experience. This will help to connect you with the interviewers and create a positive impression.
Always ask questions. Consider how you will answer common interview questions, and also prepare some questions for the interviewer.
Always carefully plan your journey to wherever the interview is being held, checking any relevant public transport timetables. Have a good breakfast in the morning, and avoid alcohol the night before.
Take with you a pen and a notebook, a copy of your CV and the invite to the interview, any requested academic documents or portfolio, breath mints or gum, a bottle of water, and money for transport and food.
If you’re unsure on the dress code, ask before attending the interview. The key point to remember is that it’s much better to be too smart than too casual. Only opt for a more casual outfit if you’re absolutely certain that’s acceptable – if there’s any doubt, always go for smart business attire. Whatever you choose, make sure that your clothes are ironed and your shoes are clean.
As your job interview comes to an end, make sure you find out when you’ll be informed of the outcome – and thank the interviewer for giving you the chance to attend.
A science graduate recruitment agency will always be able to give mock interviews, and provide any relevant information you will need to prepare also. Get in touch today, and see how we can help you.
Recruiting new employees can be an exasperating, time consuming chore for any organisation, swept under by a tidal wave of applications and CVs, it can be difficult to find the right candidates. More companies are using recruitment agencies for science graduates for good reason, using their experience and knowledge to find the best candidates for you, that fit your requirements.
There are many good reasons why employing the services of a recruiter is beneficial to your business, such as these by Cambridge Network. We’ve narrowed it down to five main benefits.
1. A recruiter will have the ability to recognise expertise. They work with businesses that need talent, and candidates that are looking for career opportunities, which places them as the intermediary position between the two parties.
Their knowledge about individual segments of the jobs market means they are able to identify and forward on the best possible candidates.
2. When a business advertises a vacancy, they often do not receive applications of the correct calibre. This can be due to marketing, the adverts are not being seen in the right places, and candidates of the right skill sets are not aware of the vacancy.
Recruiters not only advertise in print and online, but will also actively seek out appropriate candidates, not necessarily those seeking employment, but maybe those in work who could be interested by the vacancy.
3. Being the intermediary, a recruiter is in a prime position to negotiate terms and salaries between the candidate and employers. They will have identified the benchmark renumeration for the role. With both parties in agreement, it increases the possibility of sealing the deal.
4. A recruiter can conduct interviews on the employers behalf, saving time and money. They will screen candidates down from applications, phone interviews, and ensure that final interviews with the business are with the best possible candidates.
5. The recruitment agency will be able to assist if needs require only an interim professional to fill a temporary role. If cover is needed for absence or sickness, they will be able to find candidates quickly, who will be able to hit the ground running.
Businesses need not go it alone when it comes to recruiting new talent, and with the assistance of expert recruitment agencies for science graduates, you will get the cream of the crop. Get in contact today.
Life science recruiters are always looking for researchers to take up research posts across the private and academic worlds.
One of the untold pressures on medical research at the moment is the lack of doctors able to take part in research due to pressures on the NHS.
Doctors who may previously have been able to take part in research opportunities are now so overwhelmed with day-to-day work with patients are unable to do so. This could be seriously hampering medical breakthroughs, says The Academy of Medical Sciences.
The proportion of consultants in England involved in such arrangements has fallen from 7.5% in 2004 to 4.2% in 2017, the report said.
Staffing shortages are causing significant problems for the NHS, with 43,000 nurse vacancies, over 10,000 doctor vacancies and about 100,000 vacancies over all in the NHS at present. This is putting pressures on already overburdened departments who are dealing with one of the worst winter crisis on record. A&E targets are currently the worst they have ever been, as are waiting lists.
They are also concerned that budgets for medical research has been frozen despite the Conservative Party pledge to double funding for research in the next five years. Boris Johnson said he wanted to increase research funding to £18 billion during the election, but it is not clear when and how that funding will become available.
Medical staff being unable to partake in research means that data collection from patients is less possible. It also means that the research being done is less lead by those who understand what research is most pressing.
The Technician of the Year award is a long-standing tradition at Agenda, to showcase the talent we have as a company and the hardworking staff we have working with our clients across the UK and Europe.
Each year Technicians are recommended for their attitude towards work, their achievements within the industry and their overall support to research.
This year we are proud to announce the winner is our Technician, Richard, who currently works in a Hull facility. Richard has been with Agenda for nearly 20 years and is always regarded as a valuable member of any team, someone who works well with others and is reliable in his work. This year Richard has gone beyond his normal duties and taken on more responsibility to support the business and his team when staffing levels were low. He demonstrated a professional and dedicated approach to the new workload and showed his aptitude for senior management.
Laura, Facility Manager
We all celebrate Richard’s achievement of this award and congratulate him for his hard work and support to his peers with a ‘Technician of the Year’ trophy and £100 vouchers!
Well done Richard, keep up the good work!
If you’d like to be Agenda’s next #TopTech – get in touch today!
A recent announcement of the collaboration between Cancer Research UK and Vaccitech Oncology Limited (VOLT) brings hope with the first in-human trials for new lung cancer immunotherapy, introducing innovative immunotherputic vaccine strategies to patients with the condition.
With a recent review showed that lung cancer detection rates are at an all time low, new innovations in detection and treatment are receiving more investment, and aim to improve patient experiences and survival rates.
The vaccine treatment is designed to stimulate the body’s immune system so that it attacks cancer cells, delivering cancer-associated antigens to antigen-presenting cells, called dendritic cells, which then cause the immune system to produce cytotoxic T cells to target and kill the cancerous presenting antigen cells.
The platform will be used to treat the most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and is the first time that a viral vaccine programme will have been used. Clinical trials will simultaneously be ongoing to test similar recombinant virus vaccines on patients with late-stage prostate cancer.
In combination with the standard of care and first line treatment for NSCLC, the clinical trials of the vaccine strategy will be managed and sponsored by Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development (CDD). It will investigate whether the efficiency of chemotherapy is improved while receiving the immunotherapy, and assess the ability of the immunotherapeutic to provoke a safe and effective anti-cancer immune response in cases with NSCLC.
Approximately 80 people will be enrolled for the trial, all of whom have been diagnosed with NSCLC, which will start towards the end of 2020. Every year there are nearly 42,000 diagnoses of NSCLC in the UK, which accounts for 88 per cent of all new cancer cases. Only around 5 per cent of people survive NSCLC for 10 years or more in the UK, and new treatments are urgently needed.
The partnership is seen as a very important step towards accelerating promising treatments and immunotherapy that are vital to help more people survive lung cancer, which remains exceptionally hard to treat effectively. Priming the immune system with a modified adenovirus, alerting it to the presence of cancer cells could offer a brand new method of treating the disease.
VOLT CEO Bill Enright said “We believe that this partnership is an important validation of our prime boost platform’s utility in oncology as well as infectious disease.”
NSCLC cancer has been insensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy compared with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The most common types of NSCLC are squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma, but there are several other types that occur less frequently.
VOLT is a spin-out company from the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, one of the most prestigious vaccine research centres in the world, and the new partnership with Cancer Research UK is a strategic collaboration with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, a non-profit organisation formed of an international community of scientists with a focus on cancer research.
If you’re a recent graduate, and looking for a life science recruitment company, then get in touch today.
A fresh new year is the ideal time to a make a new start, including finding a life science vacancy that better suits you and fulfils your interests.
However, even with the best intentions, finding the ideal job is not easy, which is why we are giving you some tips on how you can improve your chances of landing the position of your dreams.
Trying to hunt for a job is no easy feat, particularly if you are already busy in your current post. That is why it is a good idea to seek help from a recruitment agency.
They publicise all the jobs they have on their books, and you can refine your search by location, level and job title. This is a quick and easy way to compare positions and see how competitive the jobs market is at the moment.
It is also incredibly easy to apply for a post through an agency, being able to read the job description and submit your application with the touch of a button. Indeed, it is so simple, you could send out a handful of applications before 2020 has even begun!
One of the first places companies go to find out more about candidates is their LinkedIn profile, so make sure yours is up to date, relevant and complements your skills.
The social media site is such a good tool at helping professionals network that more than 645 million people across the world use it, enabling jobseekers to gain access to a considerable number of potential recruiters.
In order to capitalise on this, Forbes suggests making your bio stand out on LinkedIn, uploading a professional photo, and including relevant experiences. Having an interesting introduction about yourself, as well as details about previous jobs, awards and internships, is useful as it tells those looking at it what you are like and what you want from your career.
While it is flattering to be offered a job, make sure it is really the one you want. Are you leaving behind a post you are unhappy in simply to make the same mistake again? You might find you need to diversify your career choices to find a position that really interests you; or you should aim for a higher level if you want to progress in your career and get a promotion; or you need to look for a job nearby if you are fed up with long commutes; or if you are dissatisfied with your company’s terms and conditions, you have to focus on looking for a firm that cares about their employees.
Although it can be tempting to settle for any job, particularly if you want to start your new employment at the beginning of the new year, it is essential you do not lose sight of your main goal.
Career expert Kourtney Whitehead told readers of Forbes: “Make sure you aren’t becoming so intent on ending the pain that you are actually settling yourself up in a job you’ll regret taking.”
A new piece of research, published in the Current Biology journal, has identified the functions of the part of the brain where Alzheimer’s begins, with the first symptoms of the disorder being problems with episodic memory.
The study, carried out by the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, focused on the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), which is one of the first areas of the brain to show changes. It was found that when a connection between one of the layers of the LEC and the hippocampus stops working properly, episodic memory is affected, unlike other forms of memory, which remain unaffected.
In order for the early stages of this progressive disorder to be understood and, thus, for treatments to be developed that can prevent degeneration of the brain, it’s essential that the brain is studied to discover how it supports episodic memory and how damage to the brain can lead to episodic memory deficits.
Commenting on the findings, Dr James Ainge of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews said: “This research is important as it gives us a very specific target when developing treatments and strategies to prevent neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.”
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, with over 520,000 people in the UK currently suffering from the disorder.
Although there have been no new drugs introduced for dementia in the last 15 years, the Alzheimer’s Society does note that progress is now being made with regards to alternative treatments and other breakthroughs.
In 2019 alone, for example, a new jelly drops invention came to the fore to help tackle dehydration among patients.
And in May, a team of researchers discovered a brain disorder known as LATE which has similar symptoms to Alzheimer’s but seems to be the result of a build-up of the toxic protein TDP-43. This finding will apparently help the Society distinguish between different disorders and therefore devise precise and more personalised treatments.
A simple blood test was also developed that is 94 per cent accurate in detecting Alzheimer’s well before brain scans can detect the condition.
And the UK Dementia Research Institute, of which the Society is a partner, will be investing £2 million in a new gene therapy initiative at University College London to tackle inherited forms of dementia and fix the genes so as to stop them from causing the disease in the first place.
The Society estimates that the number of people with dementia in the UK will rise to 1.6 million by 2040. The total cost of the disorder to the economy, which includes paid and unpaid social care, and costs to the NHS is estimated at £34.7 billion this year – and this is expected to rise to £94.1 billion by 2040.
If you’d like to find out more about the kind of services we can provide such as life science recruitment, get in touch with the friendly and experienced team today.
There are likely to be plenty of veterinary pharmaceutical jobs in the UK within the next few years, after a report revealed the life science industry is expecting to grow significantly.
BioCity’s Life Science Start-Up Report anticipates there will be a growth of investment in early-stage ventures, reaching £2.8 billion, Clean Room Technology revealed.
This is a four-fold increase compared with the previous five years, as a result of new venture funds making very large investments in early-stage life science businesses, as well as large pharmaceutical firms increasingly utilising small companies and academia as sources of innovation.
BioCity chairman and former chief executive officer Dr Glenn Crocker said the 50 per cent growth in the number of life science companies starting up would increase the demand for space.
“We estimate that this cohort of businesses alone could require 1.4 million square feet of specialist facilities over the next five years. One consequence of this demand growth is that real estate investors are increasingly attracted to the sector,” Dr Crocker stated.
This comes after the Life Science Analytics market research findings by Report Ocean revealed the global life science analytics market is on track to rise from $16,356.78 million (£12,461.24 million) in 2018 to $35,856.87 by the end of 2025, more than doubling in just seven years. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 11.86 per cent.
The report provides an analysis of trends, upcoming technologies, regulatory policies, market size, industry drivers, potential strategies of players, and key company profiles.
With all this, it looks at regional market scope, sales and revenue, market size forecast, and manufacturing cost analysis, and market effect factors and analysis, which are all compiled and studied to create business intelligence.