Postdoctoral researcher (2 years) within medicinal chemistry

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.

The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.

The Department of Chemistry invites applicants for a postdoctoral employment (2 years) within focus on development of research probes in general that will be applied in a project focusing on pancreatic cancer.The employment is full-time with access according by agreement. Last day to apply is the 29th December 2023.

We are now offering a postdoctoral position in medicinal chemistry within the team that focus on development of research probes in general that will be applied in a project focusing on pancreatic cancer. The main research activities include design and synthesis of chemical probes for target identification/mode of action studies with bioactive compounds identified e.g. through a phenotypic small molecules screen. The research activities also include synthesis of bioactive heterocyclic compounds and conjugation of the probes to these bioactive heterocycles for proof of principle studies in a pancreatic cancer project. The position will be placed in a highly interdisciplinary research setting that combines work in Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (www.cbcs.se ) and a research team in pancreatic cancer with ability to effectively evaluate and explore the generated tool compounds in different model systems. The overall aim is both to develop chemical probes for target identification/mode of action studies and to test these in an active pancreatic cancer research project.

To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the appointment decision.

To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organisations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area. Postdoctoral fellows who are to teach or supervise must have taken relevant courses in teaching and learning in higher education.

Additional requirements are:

Previous experience in bioorganic synthesis for structure-activity studies of bioactive heterocyclic compounds targeting pancreatic cancer including purification/characterization techniques such as HPLC, NMR, and MS is a requirement.

Meriting criteria are:

Previous experience in synthesis and conjugation of tools/probes to bioactive heterocyclic compounds for target identification/mode of action studies is meriting.

We seek a candidate that drives his or her studies forward independently as well as in collaboration with other members of the team, independence and good ability to collaborate are therefore requirements. Good command of written and spoken English is also a requirement..

A full application should include:

• A cover letter summarizing your qualifications, your scientific interests, your motives for applying, and how you feel you meet the essential and meriting criteria (max 2 pages),
• Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list,
• Copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
• Copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
• Copy of doctoral thesis and up to 5 relevant articles,
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
• Contact information to two persons willing to act as references.

The application must be written in English (preferably) or Swedish. The application is made through our electronic recruitment system. Documents sent electronically must be in Word or PDF format. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of this page. The closing date is  29th December 2023.  

Further details are provided by [associate professor Erik Chorell, e-mail: [email protected] .

The Department of Chemistry is one of the largest departments within the Faculty of Science and Technology with approximately 200 employees and strong and expanding research. The Department has four major research areas: Biological Chemistry, IBEAM, Organic chemistry and Technical Chemistry. We are also a strong partner in the KBC, Chemical-Biological Center. For more information about working at Umeå University, https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/ .