Director of Research & Development (R&D)

Mursla Bio is UK- and Boston-based precision medicine and diagnostics company spun out of the University of Cambridge. The company has developed a clinically validated, AI-enabled platform that analyses tissue-specific extracellular vesicles (TS-EVs) from blood to deliver tissue-resolved, multiomic insights not accessible through standard liquid biopsy approaches.

Mursla Bio’s initial focus is liver disease, where its lead program, EvoLiver™, is the only FDA Breakthrough-designated blood test for liver cancer surveillance for 7 years. EvoLiver™ leverages a capital-efficient, hepatology-led pathway to enable guideline-driven adoption and reimbursement.

Beyond cancer surveillance, Mursla is advancing precision medicine partnerships in metabolic liver disease (MASH), anchored by a landmark big pharma collaboration, and selectively expanding its platform to additional organs / tissues.

The opportunity

We are looking for an experienced Director of R&D to manage our multidisciplinary R&D team, spanning experimental science and bioinformatics, and lead the planning and execution of our R&D programmes.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a small, fast-moving biotechnology company. Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and working closely with the wider leadership team, you will translate scientific and product strategy into clear, executable R&D plans, ensuring that programmes are scientifically rigorous, appropriately prioritised and delivered against agreed objectives, timelines and resources.

The successful candidate will combine strong scientific judgement with excellent programme leadership. You will be comfortable moving between experimental detail, team leadership and the broader objectives of developing robust and clinically relevant biomarkers and diagnostic products.

Key responsibilities

Team leadership

• Lead and develop the multidisciplinary R&D team, with clear accountability for projects and experimental deliverables.
• Set objectives, provide regular feedback and coaching, and support the development of scientists at different levels of experience.
• Build a collaborative culture of scientific rigour, ownership and delivery, encouraging constructive challenge, open discussion and effective knowledge-sharing.
• Own delivery of the R&D roadmap, translating scientific and product objectives into well-defined programmes, milestones and decision points.
• Develop and manage realistic project plans covering timelines, resources, dependencies, risks and contingencies, identifying and resolving technical bottlenecks early.
• Ensure programmes generate the evidence required for technical, product and commercial decisions, with clear reporting of progress, results, risks and resource use.

Scientific and technical leadership

• Provide strong scientific oversight across R&D programmes, particularly in extracellular vesicle biology, biomarker development, molecular biology, proteomics and nucleic-acid-based analyses.
• Ensure rigorous experimental design and effective integration of experimental and bioinformatics activities, with appropriate analysis and critical interpretation of multiomic data.
• Identify and evaluate new technologies and approaches that could materially improve Mursla Bio’s platform or development programmes.

Translational and product development

• Work closely with Product Management and other functions to translate product requirements into R&D activities and technical specifications.
• Lead the progression of biomarker programmes from research and discovery through assay development and towards clinical application.
• Ensure R&D programmes increasingly meet the validation, quality, reproducibility and documentation requirements associated with diagnostic and companion-diagnostic development.

External collaboration

• Lead scientific interactions with pharmaceutical, academic and clinical partners and external service providers.
• Scope and manage outsourced scientific work, with clear deliverables, timelines and quality expectations.
• Represent Mursla Bio scientifically in partner discussions, conferences and other external forums.

About you

Essential experience and capabilities

• PhD or equivalent research experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, proteomics, cell biology, molecular diagnostics, computational biology or a related field.
• Significant experience leading complex R&D programmes in a commercial setting.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing scientists in a multidisciplinary R&D environment.
• Strong project and programme-management capability, including management of milestones, dependencies, risks, resources and external providers.
• Expertise in one or more of Mursla Bio’s core technology areas, such as extracellular vesicles, liquid biopsy, proteomics, transcriptomics, protein assays, sequencing or multi-omics, together with experience handling human clinical samples.
• Experience working closely with bioinformatics teams and interpreting complex biological datasets, including proteomic, sequencing or other multiomic data.
• Strong scientific experience in biomarker development, with the ability to critically assess experimental design, data quality and biological interpretation and progression towards robust assays.
• A pragmatic and collaborative approach, with the ability to operate effectively in a small, fast-moving company where priorities may evolve quickly.
• Experience progressing research towards diagnostic, clinical or regulated applications, particularly in diagnostics or companion diagnostics.
• Experience contributing to scientific publications, grant applications, intellectual property or external scientific presentations.
• Experience supporting external scientific interactions, including pharmaceutical partnerships, due diligence or collaborations with academic and clinical groups.
• Experience with R&D budget and resource planning in a commercial environment.

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