Doctoral students in organic chemistry within carbohydrate medicinal chemistry  - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description

The research project is to design and synthesize new chemical entities as high-affinity, selective, inhibitors of important carbohydrate recognizing proteins with optimized PK-ADMET properties. Knowledge-based design based on published structures, as well as de novo design, will be the basis for selecting synthetic target molecules.

Work duties

The main duties of doctoral students are to devote themselves to their research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties will also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Admission requirements 

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant: 

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in organic chemistry if the applicant has: 

•  at least 15 credits in the field, including at least 7.5 second-cycle credits, and a second-cycle degree project of 30 credits in the field, or
• a MSc in chemical engineering, biotechnology, environmental engineering or engineering nanoscience 

Additional requirements:

• passed a course in advanced theoretical organic chemistry (or equivalent),
• passed a course in advanced practical organic chemistry (or equivalent),
• very good oral and written proficiency in English

Assessment criteria

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following: 

• Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and the subject of study.
• An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
• Written and oral communication skills.
• Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Other assessment criteria:

• practical experience of carbohydrate chemistry
• practical experience of medicinal chemistry
• practical experience of studying carbohydrate-protein interactions
• practical experience of analyzing carbohydrate-protein interactions and determining SAR
• practical experience of computational drug design
• practical experience of analytical methods (LCMS, NMR, HPLC, IR)
• teaching in first or second cycle courses, for example as teaching or laboratory assistant
   

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant, through his or her experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

Terms of employment 

Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§. We intend to employ 1-2 doctoral students. 

Instructions on how to apply

The application must be written in English. The application must contain a personal letter with motivation as to why you are interested in the employment and in what way the research project matches your interests and your educational background. The application must also contain a curriculum vitae, diploma or equivalent and other things that you wish to invoke (copies of grades, contact information for references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

You are also asked to answer selection questions and summarize a research article as part of the application. Summary of research article must be written in English. The summary should consist of 2,000-2,500 characters, one figure and complete references. In the summary, you should discuss strengths and weaknesses with the article and suggest future project ideas. See link to research article below. 

Link to the research article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00473