Postdoc in Molecular Modelling for Drug Discovery

Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
University of Copenhagen

We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic Postdoc for a 1-year position to start on the 1st of April 2022.

You will work on a very exciting project that aims to discover novel compounds that can reduce methane (CH4) emissions produced from ruminants by targeting a metalloenzyme complex that is a critical component of CH4 production by archaea microbes growing on dihydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). This project combines computational tools with wet-lab research to identify compounds that will affect rumen archaea and diminish their ability to produce methane. The small molecules will target different molecular processes of a central enzymatic complex required to make CO2-reduction and CH4-generation in archaea. In addition to helping mitigate methane formation, the compounds will serve as molecular tools to decipher the catalytic mechanisms of the enzymatic complex and the metabolic fluxes that occur in methanogenic archaea. This project is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Information on the department can be found at: https://ivh.ku.dk/english

Our research
You will work on the Section for Animal Production, Nutrition, and Health. This section is host to the four areas of livestock production science, currently covered by professorships: cattle, cattle health, livestock production, and pigs and porcine diseases. The core areas include teaching and research into the production and health of livestock, and the main purpose of this professional group is to increase the cooperation between the veterinary and the animal science disciplines. We support teamwork, diversity, interdisciplinary activities, and international network/collaboration.

Your job
Your tasks would be to undertake molecular modelling activities within computational drug design of small molecules, including target validation, binding site identification and characterization, docking validation, library analysis, structure-based virtual screening, ligand-based virtual screening, DISE-Like selection, clustering, strain rescoring and hit inspection, molecular dynamics, prediction of protein-ligand binding energy. In addition to the molecular modelling tasks, you would be involved in laboratory activities using innovative methods of synthesis and SAR analysis. You will have a great opportunity to interact with the most respected organizations and individuals in Science from the Max Planck Institute (Germany) and the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology (KU).

Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:

Essential experience and skills:

• You have a Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, Structural Biology, or Cheminformatics
• You are highly experienced in molecular modelling techniques within the computational drug design of small molecules
• You have an active interest in drug discovery and design
• Proficient communication skills and ability to work in teams
• Willingness to work on wet-lab activities
• Work independently
• Excellent English skills written and spoken

Desirable experience and skills:

• Experience/knowledge in running the Schrödinger platform for drug discovery and design
• Experience/knowledge in the command-line and running jobs on clusters
• Experience/knowledge in programming languages such as R, Python, C++

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

Terms of employment
The Postdoc position is a full-time position and the average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is for a period of 1 year and the starting date is 1st of April 2022.

Salary, pension, and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisations. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 35,003 DKK/approx. 4,705 EUR (October 2021 level). Depending on qualifications a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a PhD degree and have not been tax liable in Denmark in the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions
For further information please contact Tenure Track Assist. Prof. André Neves at [email protected]  

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Application procedure
Your online application may be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

Deadline for applications: 31th of January 2022 at 23.59pm CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The appointment will be based on merit alone.

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.