Postdoctoral Scientist, Covalent Cancer Drug Discovery

Universiteit Leiden; Leiden; Hybrid; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Fixed-term contract

Competitive salary

Holiday allowance

Year-end bonus

ABP pension

Public transport reimbursement

Hybrid work

Home-working allowance

Job summary

Universiteit Leiden is seeking a Postdoctoral research scientist to advance covalent drug development for emerging cancer targets in Leiden. The role focuses on designing, synthesizing, and evaluating covalent inhibitors within an interdisciplinary team in the Leiden Institute of Chemistry.

The successful candidate will lead synthesis, chemoproteomics-based evaluation, and functional cell-based assays, contributing to tools for validating cancer targets and advancing drug development.

Qualifications

• Proficient synthetic/medicinal chemist capable of designing and synthesizing covalent inhibitors.
• Experience in enantioselective synthesis and covalent/electrophilic functional groups advantageous.
• Prior experience in small molecule drug development, SAR studies and property optimization.
• Strong record-keeping and data management, with meticulous scientific standards.
• Ability to write and present research in English (publications, theses, talks).

Responsibilities

• Design, synthesis and characterization of covalent small molecules.
• Report research progress in group meetings, conferences and publications.
• Collaborate with lab members and assist in biological studies.

Skills

Synthetic chemistry

Medicinal chemistry

Enantioselective synthesis

Covalent chemistry

English communication

Job description

Universiteit Leiden is seeking a Postdoctoral research scientist to advance covalent drug development for emerging cancer targets in Leiden. The role focuses on designing, synthesizing, and evaluating covalent inhibitors within an interdisciplinary team in the Leiden Institute of Chemistry.

The successful candidate will lead synthesis, chemoproteomics-based evaluation, and functional cell-based assays, contributing to tools for validating cancer targets and advancing drug development.