Group Leader – Neuroinflammation (Belgium)

Job title:

Group Leader – Neuroinflammation (Belgium)

Company

UCB

Job description

Make your mark for patientsWe are looking for a Group Leader Neuroinflammation who is agile, passionate and innovative to join us in our In-Vitro Target Discovery team based in Braine, Belgium.About the roleWe are searching for an established, experienced Neuroimmunologist to lead the In-Vitro Target Discovery Team within the Neuroinflammation focus area at UCB. The ideal candidate will have an in-depth knowledge of microglia and peripheral immune involvement in neurodegeneration as evidenced by a strong publication record and recognition within the field of neuroinflammation/neuroimmunology.Who you’ll work withYou will work closely with other teams within Neuroinflammation and align with key stakeholders across UCB’s research sites, to define experimental approaches, specific studies, and priorities. You will also manage external collaborations with academic labs, CROs and biotech partners, and will represent the Neuroinflammation team by proposing new drug targets and providing updates on projects to UCB leadership/governance.What you’ll do

• Utilising strong leadership, interpersonal and advanced communication skills, you will lead a team of 4-5 in-vitro scientists in the process of target identification, validation, and driving the biology strategy from hit ID to candidate selection.
• You will primarily be tasked with understanding the field, generating novel therapeutic targets to be investigated by the team, coordinate/prioritize activities together with your team.
• Act as the neuroinflammation biology representative to the various neuroinflammation pre-clinical projects, and drive target ID and validation initiatives together with internal and external collaborators.
• You will be expected to have some hands-on involvement in experimental work, although this will primarily be a group leader and project management role.

Interested? For this role we’re looking for the following education, experience and skills.

• The primary requirement is an exhaustive knowledge of the field of microglia and the wider neuroinflammation field.
• In-depth expertise in handling, establishing/troubleshooting functional assays utilizing human or non-human primate blood and bone marrow-derived immune cells, including PBMCs, monocytes, monocyte-derived macrophages.
• Expertise in gene editing, overexpression or knockdown technologies combined with high throughput/high content imaging approaches.
• In-depth experience with immune phenotyping (flow/mass cytometry) and cell sorting technologies is a must.
• Experience with murine cell lines, bone marrow-derived macrophages and microglia as well as knowledge of rodent models of autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease is desirable.
• Experience with iPSC-derived systems (both monoculture and co-culture) including microglial and neuronal functional assays is highly desired.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!About us
UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are around 8,500 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.Why work with us?
At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws.Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on EMEA-Reasonable_Accommodation@ucb.com. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.

Expected salary

Location

Eigenbrakel, Waals Brabant

Job date

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 22:50:30 GMT

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