1. Submitted by: Jonathan Duckworth Contact Number: 01223 394235
Candidate Name: Candidate 21524
Location: Cambridgeshire
Salary Expectations: £28,000+
Current Role:
Molecular and Cellular Scientist
Desired Role:
Research Scientist
Notice Period:
1 month (current contract finishes on June 29
th
)
Relevant Experience/Skills
For Role:
A highly experienced molecular biologist with recent cell culture
expertise. In his current role he provides high quality cell culture
and optimisation of mammalian cell lines (e.g. HEK, CHO etc).
He has a strong Pharmaceutical background and has provided key
molecular support to Discovery projects. Aside from this he has
excellent experience of several key techniques:
- Western Blotting
- FAC’s sorting
- SDS-page
Due to finish his fixed term contract in June 2014 and is he keen to
stay in the Cambridge area.

2. Candidate 21524
PERSONAL PROFILE
An adaptable Biochemist and Molecular Biologist with an extensive scientific knowledge and
expertise gained in Academia and the Pharmaceutical Industry.
CURRENT POSITION
Bench Scientist, Neusentis (Pfizer), Gt Abington, Cambridge July 2011 to present
SRG Contractor: To provide key support for many projects within the electrophysiology group.
Key Responsibilities
 Mammalian Cell Culture: Provide consistently high quality cells for a number of different
projects and electrophysiology platforms. Cell culture and optimisation of difficult mammalian
cell lines. Conduct QC, culture optimisation and cell banking.
 Experience of automated e-phys platforms (Q-patch)
 Devising transfection strategies (Lipofectamine): creation of transient and stable (constitutive
and inducible) cell lines
 Provide Molecular Biology support for various projects: cloning, sequence analysis, creating
cell lines, Site-directed mutagenesis.
 Lab manager (and safety steward) for the cell culture lab & Fire Steward.
CAREER HISTORY
Molecular & Cellular Biologist, WRD, Pfizer Ltd, Sandwich, Kent 2008 – 2011
SRG Contractor: Provided key support with Molecular Biology and Cell Culture for projects within
the Pain research group
Molecular Biologist, VMRD, Pfizer Ltd, Sandwich, Kent 2007 – 2008
SRG Contractor: Provided key Molecular Biology support for projects within Veterinary Medicine
Research and Development.
Research Officer, University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales 2003 – 2006
Postdoctoral Position: Identify and characterise the members of a protein super-family (in
Arabidopsis) using standard Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Microbiological techniques.
Gartnavel General Hospital (Molecular Biology), Glasgow, Scotland (3 months) 1998
Screened human DNA samples for the genetic disease haemachromatosis.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Key Research Experience
 DNA & RNA purification from plant, animal and human tissues, PCR, TAIL PCR, RT-PCR,
qRT-PCR (Taqman), RACE, Site-directed mutagenesis, in vitro transcription and Northern,
Southern and Western blotting.
 Mammalian and Plant Cell Culture of adherent and suspension cell lines; also ex-vivo culture
of bovine blood.
 Transient and stable transfections (electroporation and lipofectamine) of mammalian and
plant cell culture. Also FACS sorting and clonal selection of mammalian cell lines
 Carbon-14 feeding studies, metabolite purification and analysis.
 Creation of vector constructs for Sequencing, Transfection and High throughput cloning
(Gateway system),
 Creation of gene-GFP constructs, their transfection and analysis with Confocal microscopy.
 Screening mutant populations and molecular characterisation of mutations.
 Heterologous expression of protein in E. coli and purification of it using His-tag.
 Characterisation of protein function through SDS-PAGE and enzyme assays.

3. Organised Work Experience at the following places:
 Bishop Auckland General Hospital, County Durham 1994
Experience of Pathology Labs (Heamatology, Biochemistry, Cytology, Microbiology).
 Great Lakes Chemical (Ltd), Newton Aycliffe, County Durham 1994
Analysing batches of samples for actual orders following standard protocols in QC labs.
EDUCATION
 PhD in Biochemistry (University of Wales, Bangor) 1999 – 2003
 BSc (Honours) in Biochemistry (2:i), (University of Glasgow) 1995 – 1999
(The course involved 2 years of Undergraduate Chemistry)
 3 A-Levels: Biology, Chemistry and Physics 1993 – 1995
(Ferryhill Comprehensive School)
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Supervisory Experience:
 Supervising Industrial Trainees in Cell Culture (Pfizer) 2011 – 2014
 Supervising Industrial Trainees in Molecular Biology (Pfizer) 2007 – 2011
 Supervising undergraduate project student 2003 – 2004
 Lab Demonstrator to undergraduates and marking of their lab reports 2000 – 2003
IT Skills:
 Proficient with computers and competent with MS office (Word, PowerPoint and Excel),
Adobe Photoshop and Databases.
 Internet research databases (eg NCBI Genbank) and Internet tools (eg for DNA
sequence manipulation).
Personal:
 Carer for wife with long term illness 2006 - 2013
 BBSRC Biotechnology Young Entrepreneur Scheme (four-man team) 2004
 Elected committee member for Glasgow Gaming Society 1998 – 1999
(Organising venues and refereeing games for society members)
 Student Representative for Biochemistry (2nd
and 3rd
Years) 1997 – 1998
 Month-long expedition to Spitsbergen (Arctic) 1996
 Full Clean Driving Licence.
INTERESTS & HOBBIES
Genealogy; Landscape photography; Baking; fell walking; Latin American/Ballroom/Scottish
country dancing; active member of local church; writing short stories; visiting museums and
English Heritage properties.
PUBLICATIONS
On request
Conference Oral Presentations
Society of Experimental Biology, Main Meeting, (Canterbury, UK) 2006
Plant Science Wales, (Aberystwyth, UK) 2001
Conference Poster Presentations
Society of Experimental Biology, Main Meeting (Canterbury, UK) 2001 & 2006
Plant Science Wales (Aberystwyth, UK) 2003
XIIIth International Arabidopsis Conference (Seville, Spain) 2002
References
References available on request