Richard from Discovery Chemistry

• • Discovery chemistry

  • Matt - synthetic chemistry
  • Galith - synthetic chemistry
  • Theresa - synthetic chemistry
  • Richard - computational chemistry
  • Attilla - computational chemistry
  • Jon - medicinal chemistry
  • Sara - synthetic chemistry
  • Linette - physical chemistry
  • Julie - protein crystallographer
  • Matthew - physical chemistry
  • Chester - medicinal chemistry
  • Denise - synthetic chemistry
  • Hiroki - medicinal chemistry

I graduated from The University Of Birmingham with a PhD in computational chemistry and a BSc in Chemistry with Bioorganic Chemistry. I was keen to experience how computational chemistry could impact on real drug discovery projects in an industrial environment.

"I applied to Astrazeneca as they have a strong reputation in the pharmaceutical industry and the region around Alderley Park (Cheshire) is a great part of the country to live in." Richard

I applied to Astrazeneca as they have a strong reputation in the pharmaceutical industry and the region around Alderley Park (Cheshire) is a great part of the country to live in. AZ also offered a very attractive financial package and benefits with the bonus of great social facilities including an on site sports centre.

I applied directly to the computational chemistry group and after a two-day interview and a follow-up further interview I was offered a job here. They were very flexible about my start date as I was writing up my PhD thesis at the time. The role of computational chemistry in the company is varied. Within the group here at Alderley Park there is a broad knowledge base which extends across computational chemistry, molecular modeling, data mining and programming which is an ideal environment to broaden a graduate's experience.

The work I do is usually varied as at any one time you are likely to be working on different drug discovery projects. It is often necessary to present your work to small groups of team members or on occasions to larger groups of people in a project meeting, which is an important part of the job. Having a mentor assigned to you in the early stages of employment demonstrates the support given to new starters and I feel that my personal development is being closely monitored at all times.

When assigned to project work I feel that I have the opportunity and the freedom to use a variety of techniques to give an interesting and varied working day. The sports facilities are great with an annual football tournament and other sporting and social events. There is also a diverse set of social and sporting clubs to cater for most peoples needs, and an on-site bar provides a convenient place to meet people after work.