Post-Doctoral Research Assistant - UOD2284

University of Dundee; Dundee; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Dundee is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in synthetic medicinal chemistry and chemical biology to join CeTPD within the CONTROL-MITO team, developing bifunctional probes for mitochondria-targeted proximity induction.

You will design, synthesise and characterise novel probes, drive an iterative DMTA cycle, and collaborate with colleagues at Glasgow and Edinburgh to assess cellular activity and target engagement.

Qualifications

• PhD in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, or related field.
• Strong hands-on experience in organic synthesis and multi-step route design.
• Experience designing synthesising complex molecules such as PROTACs or bifunctional probes.
• Familiarity with structure- or fragment-based drug design and translating data into medicinal hypotheses.
• Open, rigorous and reproducible approach to science.

Responsibilities

• Design, synthesise and characterise novel chemical probes.
• Work with biophysical assay data (SPR, TR-FRET, AlphaLISA, ITC, NanoBRET) to guide design.
• Contribute to DMTA cycle and evaluate compound uptake in cellular models.
• Collaborate with cross-institution researchers and biologists across networks.

Skills

Linker chemistry

Biophysical assays

Analytical chemistry

Degron tag tools

Education

PhD in organic/med chem or chemical biology

Job description

We are recruiting for an exceptional individual to join us as a synthetic medicinal chemist or chemical biologist Postdoctoral Research Assistant, based within the Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation (CeTPD) at the University of Dundee, within our CONTROL-MITO team. The role holder will design, synthesise, and characterise novel chemical probes, with the aim of inducing protein-protein proximity within the mitochondrial matrix.The post is co-supervised by Professor Alessio Ciulli and Dr Will Farnaby, and sits within an interdisciplinary team that also includes researchers at the University of Glasgow (Professor Richard Hartley) and the University of Edinburgh (Dr Andrew Wood). This is a fixed-term appointment for 18 months from the 1st of September 2026. The postholder will work within an iterative design-make-test-analyse (DMTA) cycle, drawing on structural and biophysical data generated by a paired biophysicist/structural biologist postdoc (to be recruited separately). They will also collaborate closely with cell biologists and mitochondrial biologists across the network to evaluate compound uptake, target engagement, and activity in cellular models. This is a highly enabling platform project and an outstanding opportunity to work at the frontier of chemical biology, deploying cutting-edge bifunctional molecule design, mitochondria-targeted chemistry and proximity-inducing probe discovery within a world-leading Centre and an ambitious, well-funded multi-institutional programme.

Your priorities will include:

• Linker chemistry and conjugation strategies relevant to bifunctional probes
• Working with biophysical assay data (e.g. SPR, TR-FRET, AlphaLISA, ITC, NanoBRET) to guide compound design and prioritisation
• Use of analytical chemistry techniques relevant to probe characterisation (HPLC-MS, NMR) and in vitro compound profiling.
• Familiarity with degron tags, CIP systems, or related proximity-inducing chemical biology tools (e.g. BromoTag, dTAG, HaloTag, AID).

Who we're looking for:

• A PhD in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, or a closely related discipline, with an outstanding academic track record and at least one co-authored publication in an internationally recognised peer-reviewed journal.
• Strong background and demonstrated hands-on expertise in organic synthesis and synthetic route design, including multi-step synthesis of complex small molecules.
• Experience designing and synthesising complex molecules such as PROTACs, molecular glues, or other heterobifunctional chemical probes is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with structure-based or fragment-based drug design approaches, and the ability to translate structural information into medicinal chemistry hypotheses.
• An open, rigorous and reproducible approach to science

For further information about this position please contact Professor Alessio Ciulli ( [e-mail] ) or Dr Will Farnaby ( [e-mail] ). To find out more about the Ciulli group, Farnaby group or CeTPD, please visit the Website.

£37,649 to £46,049 per annum