Research Associate/Fellow (Fixed term)

Reference: SCI160022

Closing Date: Friday, 6th May 2022

Job Type: Research

Department: Chemistry

Salary: £27924 to £34304 per annum, depending on skills and experience (minimum £31406 with relevant PhD).

Developing New Drugs to Treat Myotonic Dystrophy

We are recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, to work on a drug discovery under the supervision of Professor Christopher J. Hayes, working in close collaboration with Professor J. David Brook (School of Life Sciences, Nottingham) as part of the wider Myotonic Dystrophy drug discovery team.

Myotonic dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults and affects about one in 8,000 people.  It is a long-term genetic disorder that affects muscle function, and there is currently no treatment available.  The project will develop novel kinase inhibitors to treat myotonic dystrophy.  This exciting project is a collaboration between researchers based in the Schools of Chemistry, and Life Sciences at University of Nottingham and the University of Oxford.

Candidates should have experience of multi-step synthetic organic chemistry and (preferably) its application to Medicinal Chemistry/Drug Discovery.

The successful candidate will carry out the following duties:

•    Undertake the design and synthesis of a range of novel kinase inhibitors as directed by Professor Chris Hayes.

•    Synthesise sufficient quantity of materials to provide samples for evaluation of their efficacy and drug-like properties by collaborators in the Schools of Life Science and other project partners.

•    Prepare high quality supporting data for patent applications and publications resulting from the project.

•    Liaise with academic collaborators, contribute to the supervision of student projects and to the maintenance and smooth running of the research laboratory.

Successful candidates will:

•    Have a first degree in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or closely related discipline.

•    Hold a PhD (or expect to complete their PhD soon) in medicinal chemistry or synthetic organic chemistry.

•    Be available to take up the post from the 1st May 2022.

•    Have a track record of productivity in medicinal chemistry or synthetic organic chemistry.

•    Have excellent organisational, communication and team working skills.

This post is available from 1st May 2022 and is fixed term for 24 months. Hours of work are full time (36.25 hours).

The School of Chemistry values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity. The School holds a Silver Athena SWAN Award in recognition of our commitment to advancing women's careers in science. You can read more about this at www.athenaswan.org.uk and on our website www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/about/athena-swan  

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor Chris Hayes, email: [email protected] . Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

Our University is a supportive, inclusive, caring and positive community. We warmly welcome those of different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs – indeed this very diversity is vital to our success, it is fundamental to our values and enriches life on campus. We welcome applications from UK, Europe and from across the globe. For more information on the support we offer our international colleagues, see our Moving to Nottingham pages.

For successful international applicants, we provide financial support for your visa and the immigration health surcharge, plus an interest-free loan to help cover the cost of immigration-related expenses for any dependants accompanying you to the UK. For more information please see the our webpage on Financial support for visas and the immigration health surcharge .