PhD opportunities in HiSCORE ERC project (# of pos: 2)

Our recently funded ERC Synergy Grant

HiSCORE - Highly Informative Drug Screening by Overcoming NMR Restrictions

seeks to advance hyperpolarisation, miniaturisation, parallelisation and spin dynamics, and combine these research themes for highly informative drug discovery by nuclear magnetic resonance. We believe that, eventually, magnetic resonance can provide an in-depth biophysical characterisation of drug candidates in a much shorter time than today, and become a very effective platform for rapid drug discovery.

This highly interdisciplinary project is run by four laboratories (Geoffrey Bodenhausen, Arno Kentgens, Jan Korvink, and Benno Meier) in three institutions (ENS Paris, Radboud University Nijmegen, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). Our partners Alvar Gossert (ETH Zürich) and Claudio Dalvit (Trento) complete our team with strong expertise in magnetic resonance (MR) based drug discovery.

We now invite applications from prospective PhD candidates,to join this ambitious research programme. Several positions are available, and we expect frequent and in-depth exchanges between the participating labs. PhD positions will be supervised jointly, and enable one to obtain experience in the participating institutions. 

The Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC) headed by Kentgens will focus on the development of hyperpolarization methodology in a microfluidic context, including advanced sample handling and use of solvents such as supercritical CO2 . We will explore Overhauser DNP, rapid-melt DNP and Para Hydrogen Induced Polarization (PHIP), aiming at a generic approach for hyperpolarizing drug candidates. Further research will include the development of parallel NMR detectors, as well as methods to run experiments independently in each detector.

Our lab is part of the national Dutch NMR facility (uNMR-NL), and houses a range of state-of-the-art spectrometers, including 400, 500 & 600 MHz liquid-state spectrometers, 300, 400, 600 and 850 MHz solid-state NMR spectrometers. The 600 MHz solids machine is equipped with a 396 GHz Gyrotron for DNP. A multipurpose liquids / solids / microimaging 950 MHz spectrometer was installed early 2021. For the HiSCORE project, a dedicated 400 MHz WB spectrometer equipped with a 263 GHz CW oscillator is available. All spectrometers are equipped with a host of commercial and home-built probes. The hyphenation of superfluidic chromatography and NMR has been achieved. The group has unique expertise in the development of miniaturized NMR probe technology.

The MRRC invites applications of PhD s  with a degree in chemistry or physics. We prefer candidates with a good team spirit, who like to work in an international environment, and are able to collaborate with our partner groups at the crossroads between chemistry, physics, and engineering. In particular, we will focus on the:

• Exploration of PHIP-based protocols as potential polarization sources.
• Development of high-fidelity parallel detectors and probe technology capable of rapid sample shuttling and freeze/melt steps.
• Development of hyperpolarization approaches for simultaneous in-line characterization of multiple samples.
• Development and implementation of hyphenated analysis techniques for pharmaco-metabolomics.

Application procedure: For more information about this vacancy, please contact: Prof. dr. A.P.M. Kentgens, email: [email protected] . You can submit your complete application to [email protected]