Scientific Staff (prae doc)

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences invites applicants for a praedoc position. The candidate should have an excellent track record in structural biology to conduct current research projects.

Most drugs on the market are designed to bind directly to primary active sites (also known as orthosteric sites) of their biological targets. Allosteric modulators offer important advantages over orthosteric ones: they can be more selective because allosteric sites are less conserved, they can change protein levels or localization within the cell, change subtle aspects of protein function (e.g. form or conformation of the quaternary structure) and are unique in their ability to provide enzymatic activation. Furthermore, allosteric drugs can be used synergistically with orthosteric ligands, an approach that has been successfully used to prevent emergence of resistance in cancer therapy. Allostery may also be the key to drug proteins that have been considered undruggable due to the absence of a known active site, such as KRAS. The Rademacher lab investigates the identification and development allosteric drugs using C-type lectin receptors as targets applying biophysical methods such as NMR and SPR. Involvement in drug discovery teaching is optional. This position is advertised as part of the European Training Network ALLODD (www.allodd.eu ). Most drugs on the market are designed to bind directly to primary active sites (also known as orthosteric sites) of their biological targets. Allosteric modulators offer important advantages over orthosteric ones: they can be more selective because allosteric sites are less conserved, they can change protein levels or localization within the cell, change subtle aspects of protein function (e.g. form or conformation of the quaternary structure) and are unique in their ability to provide enzymatic activation. Furthermore, allosteric drugs can be used synergistically with orthosteric ligands, an approach that has been successfully used to prevent emergence of resistance in cancer therapy. Allostery may also be the key to drug proteins that have been considered undruggable due to the absence of a known active site, such as KRAS. The Rademacher lab investigates the identification and development allosteric drugs using C-type lectin receptors as targets applying biophysical methods such as NMR and SPR. Involvement in drug discovery teaching is optional. This position is advertised as part of the European Training Network ALLODD (www.allodd.eu ).