PhD fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry at Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Updated: over 1 year ago
Deadline: 09 Oct 2022

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

We are offering a three-year PhD fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry commencing 15 December 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project description
Kinases and phosphatases regulate, in concert, phosphorylation levels by adding or removing, a phosphate group from biomolecules. Phosphorylation is key to normal cellular function and, subsequently, imbalance in phosphorylation level is involved in a multitude of diseases. The PhD project will be part of a larger project aimed to develop a technology platform for targeted modulation of phosphorylation. This will be pursued by development of chemical small molecule inducers of dimerization enabling proximity for a dysregulated protein and an effector enzyme rescuing the dysregulated phosphorylated state.

The specific PhD project will focus on development of heterobifunctional ligands involving structure-based design, organic synthesis and biochemical assessment. The work will be performed in close collaboration with pharmacologists.

Principal supervisor
Professor Bente Frølund, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology
E-mail:  [email protected] , direct phone: +45 3533 6495

Start
15 December 2022

Duration
3 years as a PhD student

Our group and research
The PhD project will be part of the Frølund Group, which is highly international and includes postdocs, PhD students, and master students. The overall goal
of the research is to develop molecular probes and novel methodologies to obtain insight into identity, localization, function, therapeutic potential of target receptors/transporters/enzymes with neuroprotection in focus. The approaches comprise structure-activity studies, development of imaging ligands for determination of localization, mobility, and activation of target proteins, and engineered molecular probes for ligand-protein crystallization, identification and probing of binding sites, bioorthogonal chemistry, targeted delivery and rewiring cell signaling. All the projects are interdisciplinary, building on international and national collaborations. With a platform in medicinal chemistry, our projects bridges with molecular pharmacology, computational and biostructural chemistry.

Our department
The Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology (www.drug.ku.dk) delivers drug-related research and research-based teaching within a wide range of drug-related disciplines, spanning the molecular, cellular, and pharmacological levels.

Information about the Department can be found at https://drug.ku.dk/ .

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences are:

  • Carrying through an independent research project under supervision
  • Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points
  • Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team, preferably abroad
  • Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
  • Teaching of undergraduate students in pharmaceutical sciences
  • Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. organic/medicinal chemistry or related area. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

  • Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
  • Relevant work experience
  • Previous publications
  • The grade point average achieved
  • Other professional activities
  • A curious mind-set with a strong interest in organic/medicinal chemistry and protein-ligand interactions
  • Language skills

Terms of employment
The posotion i a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years and the average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week. The position is to commence on 15 December 2022 or as soon as possible hereafter. 

The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project to the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

The PhD student is expected to be affiliated to the graduate programme in pharmaceutical sciences, Drug Research Academy .

Salary, pension, and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 28,440 DKK/roughly 3,3,890 EUR (October 2022 level) plus pension.

Application procedure
Your application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking “Apply now” below and must include the following documents in PDF format:

  • Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
  • CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
  • Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
    As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database . Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
    Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used
  • Publication list (if possible)
  • Other information to consider: References and recommendations (if possible)

The deadline for applications is Sunday 9 October 2022, 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 authorised 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.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

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.

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

Interviews are expected to be held in week 43.

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

Questions
For further information, applicants may contact the principal supervisor, Professor Bente Frølund, e-mail:  [email protected] , direct phone: +45 3533 6495 or PhD coordinator Marianne W. Jørgensen, e-mail: [email protected] , direct phone: +45 3533 6449.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/ .

For more information on working and living in Denmark visit http://ism.ku.dk (International staff mobility) and https://www.workindenmark.dk .

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.


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.



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