Scientists (x2), Medicinal Chemistry / Organic Chemistry (PROTAC drug discovery) (# of pos: 2)

About the Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation (CeTPD)

Within the University of Dundee, the newly announced Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation (CeTPD, https://www.dundee.ac.uk/cetpd ) due to open in early 2022 is being created as a first of its kind Centre leading a number of internationally significant projects in the burgeoning new area of translational chemical biology and targeted protein degradation. The goal of CeTPD is to innovate a next-generation of small-molecule platforms and modalities to advance chemical and biological insights and therapeutic targets related to human diseases. It aspires to achieve this by openly collaborating with academic, industrial and venture partners, and by training and inspiring the next-generation of research scientists and leaders.

We are seeking two highly motivated medicinal/organic chemists to join a multi-disciplinary drug discovery team within our expanding Centre based at the University of Dundee. The team is engaged in an exciting collaboration on proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTAC) drug discovery between the laboratories of Professor Alessio Ciulli (http://www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/groups/alessio-ciulli ) and Boehringer Ingelheim. Our mission is to discover novel small-molecule degraders to treat cancer and other human diseases with serious unmet medical needs. The scientist will be expected to boost the drug design and synthesis approaches the team are taking to accelerate translation of research in this field and to develop degrader drug candidates.

The posts are available to start immediately. Salary will depend on experience and will be up to £40,927. This is a unique opportunity to gain experience in world-leading industry-style drug discovery within an academic setting. The position is available until 31st December 2023 in the first instance.

Location: The postholder will be based at the newly refurbished CeTPD Complex, adjacent to the Life Sciences Complex.

Your responsibilities:

• Design and synthesis of compounds across project targets.
• Carrying out data analysis and relevant quality assurance protocols.
• Critically analyse project data and contribute ideas that will drive projects forward.
• Develop team science across the collaboration, working with colleagues across disciplines to enable breakthroughs.
• Report directly to the Collaboration Leader (Will Farnaby) and to the Principal Investigator (Alessio Ciulli).