Two Postdoctoral Positions within Drug Discovery and Protein Biochemistry : Copenhagen, Denmark

The Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen is offering two temporary postdoctoral positions within Fragment-based drug discovery against CNSprotein targets. The positions are for two years from January 18th, 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter with the possibility of extension.

About us
The Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology delivers research and teaching within a wide range of drug-related disciplines, spanning the molecular, cellular, and pharmacological levels. The department has approximately 300 employees. The applicant(s) will become part of a new research group at the department initially comprising one PhD student, two postdocs (the applicants) and the group leader (Assist. Prof. Anders Bach). Together with departmental colleagues and collaborators we will build a strong team focusing on fragment-based drug discovery for tackling challenging CNS targets.

Project description
The postdoctoral projects will focus on the development of novel small molecules against proteins in the brain. The proteins are involved in key pathological processes like oxidative stress and excitotoxicity, which play a fundamental role in CNS diseases such as ischemic stroke and neurodegeneration. In the search for small molecule inhibitors, essential knowledge of the ‘ligandability’ of the proteins is attained, and new inhibitors can serve as valuable tools for further pharmacological studies. Thus, this project can contribute significantly to the discovery of new therapeutic principles against challenging targets and CNS diseases.

The overall goal of the postdoc projects is to develop and apply the technological tools that will allow us to identify, characterize and optimize novel fragments (small and simple substructures of druglike compounds) into potent and bioactive inhibitors. Specifically, the key tasks will be to express and purify proteins, setup biochemical and biophysical assays (e.g. NMR, SPR, ITC) for characterizing protein function and performing screenings of our in-house fragment library, and assist in the optimization process and biostructural studies of fragment hits.

The 2 postdoc positions are financed by the Lundbeck Foundation Fellowship starting grant.

General job description
Your key tasks as postdoc at the department are to:
• manage and carry through your research project
• write scientific articles
• participate in national and international congresses and scientific meetings
• participate in teaching

Your qualifications
The applicants must have:
• Obtained a PhD degree within biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biology, structural biology or related fields.
• Experience with recombinant DNA technology and protein expression, purification and characterization
• Fluency in English and excellent communication and interpersonal skills

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a strong and well-documented background in mentioned scientific areas. Experience and general interest in drug discovery and biophysical/biochemical methods for screening are desirable. Likewise, expertise within biostructural methods and in silico methods for evaluating protein-ligand interactions is considered advantageous.

We can offer
•A strong scientific environment in a friendly atmosphere
•Great opportunities for professional and personal development
•A workplace in the beautiful city of Copenhagen

Terms of employment
The appointment is made in accordance with the Circular on the collective agreement concerning Academics in the state sector concluded between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

The appointment is furthermore covered by the rules concerning postdocs as described in the Danish Agency for Higher Education’s “Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities” of 28 June 2013.

Your working hours will be 37 hours per week on average.