Medicinal Chemists/Adjunct Professor Series*

University of California - San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 113,000 - 297,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California, San Francisco seeks creative medicinal chemists to advance IND's drug discovery programs for neurodegenerative diseases. Adjunct faculty appointments involve translating high-throughput screening results into candidate selection and contributing to publication-quality research.

Candidates must demonstrate outstanding synthetic skills and collaborative problem solving. Applicants should have a PhD in Chemistry or related field, strong communication, mentoring ability,

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated mastery of medicinal chemistry with creative molecular design and synthetic chemistry skills.
• Ability to work in a interdisciplinary team with strong communication.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to drug discovery from validation of HTS results to candidate selection for clinical study.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of scientists including neurobiologists, cell biologists, analytical chemists, pharmacologists, and external researchers.
• Mentor junior colleagues as part of evaluation and team growth.

Skills

Medicinal chemistry

Molecular design

Synthetic chemistry

Communication

Mentoring

Team collaboration

Education

Ph.D. in Chemistry/Organic/Medicinal Chemistry

Job description

Application Window

Open date: May 27, 2025

Most recent review date: Thursday, Jun 26, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date: Friday, Nov 27, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

Medicinal Chemists/Adjunct Professor Series

The Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (IND) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) seeks creative and highly motivated medicinal chemists to help drive the IND's drug discovery programs in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and others. The IND is located at the new Sandler Neurosciences Center at UCSF's Mission Bay campus and directed by Nobel Laureate Dr. Stanley Prusiner.

The successful candidates for these adjunct faculty positions will contribute to drug discovery efforts from validation of high-throughput screening results to selection of candidates for clinical study. Candidates should be able to demonstrate scientific curiosity and fully realized problem solving abilities as recognized by establishment and/or completion of projects resulting in clinical candidates or high-quality publications. Mastery of modern principles of medicinal chemistry will be considered in the context of experience, but all successful candidates must be able to provide examples of creative molecular design and outstanding synthetic chemistry skills. All team members will be expected to leverage their skills through hands-on research activities.

The position requires the chemist to work closely with an interdisciplinary group of scientists, including neurobiologists, cell biologists, analytical chemists, pharmacologists, and outside researchers such as contract research organizations. As a result, candidates should have excellent communication skills and work well in a team environment. Success in mentoring junior colleagues will also be strongly considered in evaluation of all candidates.

Ph.D. or equivalent in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a closely related field required at the time of appointment. Candidate's application materials must state basic qualifications (or if pending) upon submission. These are full-time positions with excellent benefits. Salary is dependent upon experience. This recruitment remains open until all openings are filled. Interested applicants must submit curriculum vitae with a list of publications, a cover letter, a brief summary of research accomplishments, and contact information for three professional references.

*Rank will be commensurate with background, experience, and work history.

About University of California, San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and high-quality patient care. It is the only UC campus in the 10-campus system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences.

The UCSF School of Medicine is a global leader in education and public health, clinical practice and scientific discovery, and is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive culture of its community and a supportive work and learning environment that attracts the best faculty, staff, students and trainees.

The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See Table 5. The minimum base salary range for this position is $112,500-$297,200. This position includes membership in the health sciences compensation plan which provides for eligibility for additional compensation.

Application Requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - CV must clearly list current and/or pending qualifications (e.g. board eligibility/certification, medical licensure, etc.) with a list of publications.
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research - A brief summary of research accomplishments
• Statement of Teaching (Optional)
• Misc / Additional (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

Three professional references

About UC San Francisco

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

UCSF is committed to welcoming and serving all people, honoring the dignity of every individual without preference or prejudice, in support of its public mission and in alignment with our PRIDE values and Principles of Community.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

* "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer.

* UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

* UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

* APM - 035: Affinitive Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job location

San Francisco, CA