Job Purpose

To support the medical research at Total-body Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Facility Scotland through the development of PET radiopharmaceutical radiosynthesis procedures and protocols in the Radiopharmaceutical Production Unit of the West of Scotland Glasgow PET centre for application in the GMP radiochemistry manufacturing facility. The early-stage bespoke radiochemistry development of PET tracers to GMP production and the transfer of the protocols developed in Glasgow to the Radiopharmaceutical Production at the Edinburgh Imaging QMRI facility will be the key focus of this role.

Main duties and responsibilities

1. Be responsible for all managerial aspects of the radiolabelling procedures and their development, such as contributing to the strategic direction of their research, providing specialist advice, imputing to decisions on the management of resources across the teams and ensuring compliance with relevant Health and Safety legislation.

2. Develop radiolabelling procedures of research PET radiopharmaceuticals for the various PET research groups, translating preclinical research tracer production protocols into clinical radiopharmaceutical manufacture protocols for use in the GMP production facility. For example, but not limited to [11C]acetate, [11C]methionine, [18F]FMISO,  [18F]FET, [18F]FLT and other common or novel carbon-11 and fluorine-18 labelled radiopharmaceuticals as required.

3. Develop Quality Control procedures for the radiotracers produced and write the corresponding protocols for the GMP manufacturing facility and Quality Assurance protocols for translation of the developed radiotracers into GMP standard, such as Standard Operating Procedures, staff training and validation studies protocols.

4. Coordinate research translation requirements with the GMP production, Quality Control, and Quality Assurance teams at the University of Edinburgh; and document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting technical/progress reports and papers as appropriate.

5. Contribute to the development and enhancement of the research profile and reputation of the Total-body PET Facility Scotland. Plan and conduct assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and provide data and analysis for inclusion in papers, or conference presentations.  Use specialist knowledge to aid the research strategy, taking every opportunity to input to research goals and maximise the research impact.

6. Plan a schedule and prioritisation list of radiopharmaceuticals to translate from preclinical research to clinical application in conjunction with NPIP teams and manage the timescales for translational projects and liaise with research teams across the TB PET Facility Scotland, helping manage and direct this complex work as required.

7. Liaise with the Head of the Radiopharmaceutical Production Unit at the West of Scotland Glasgow PET centre and Edinburgh Imaging at Total-body PET Facility Scotland and coordinate all the translational activities between the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh PET radiochemistry teams.

8. Troubleshoot complex technical problems and undertake complex data analysis, identifying trends, problems or anomalies, and present findings clearly to the respective PET centre, and/or the Total Body PET Facility Scotland managing board, including proposals for action/mitigation and future action.

9. Aid the TB PET Facility Scotland in preparing MHRA documentation to submit applications for Clinical Trials and manage administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group, including delegated budgets/expenditure and reporting.

10. Work collaboratively with others, including within the wider College/School/Group/ and the University of Glasgow PET Radiochemistry team; and with external contacts at the West of Scotland Glasgow PET Centre Radiopharmaceutical Production Unit; University of Edinburgh PET Radiochemistry staff; and the Total Body PET Facility Scotland managing board to enhance the delivery of the research aims and support the broader strategic aims of the project.

11. Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by Head of Service/School.

12. Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan, World Changers Together and contribute to outreach activities.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and  Experience

Qualifications/Knowledge

Essential:

A1: SCQF Level 9 [Ordinary Degree, Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4] or equivalent, (including professional accreditation with relevant formal training), and experience of personal development in a similar role in chemistry, medicinal chemistry, pharmacy or a cognate discipline.

A2: Specialist theoretical knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practice in (radio) pharmaceutical manufacture.

A3: Knowledge of medicinal chemistry and/or pharmacy.

A4: Demonstrable knowledge of relevant legislative requirements including Health and Safety.

Desirable:

B1: Masters degree in medicinal chemistry/pharmacy/radiochemistry/radiopharmacy or equivalent.

Skills

Essential:

C1: Skilled in using Q-Pulse QMS software package.

C2: Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner.

C3: Research creativity and collaborative ability.

C4: Excellent interpersonal skills including team working and a collegiate approach and ability to collaborate with multiple internal and external stakeholders for effective project management.

C5: Significant analytical and problem solving capacity, including a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail when dealing with complex data to ensure protocols are fit for purpose

C6: Extensive MS Office usage skills.

C7: Self-motivation, initiative and independent thought/working.

C8: Problem solving skills including a flexible and pragmatic approach.

Desirable:  

D1: PET radiotracer development skills.

D2: Familiarity with the use of automated radiosynthesizers.

D3: Skills in developing protocols for quality control of radiopharmaceuticals.

D4: Practical experience in Good Manufacturing Practice of radiopharmaceuticals.

D5: Practical experience in PET radiochemistry.

D6: A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of the wider subject area in radiopharmaceutical development.

Experience

Essential:

E1: Exposure to the (radio) pharmaceutical manufacture in a Good Manufacturing Practice environment.

E2: Experience of SOP writing.

E3: Some experience of project and budget management

E4: Familiarity of working with Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines.

E5: Experience of developing protocols that have been adopted for use

E6: Experience of contributing to a research strategy, preparing analysis and presentation of data and delivering in support of research goals.

Desirable:

F1: Sufficient relevant research experience in PET radiotracer development

F2: Experience of scientific writing.

Additional information

The post will work between three different teams located in sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh, therefore flexibility towards working hours and working locations is required.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £40,497 - £45,413 per annum.

This post is full time and open ended with funding for up to 60 months.

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

Closing date: 23:45 on Thursday 10th April 2025