Position 4 – Medicinal Chemistry / Organic Chemistry PDRA (KOODAC team)
Unit: Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation Fixed-Term for 5 years
Grade 7 (Spinal Point 29 -36) (£36,024- £44,263)
We are recruiting for an exceptional Medicinal Chemist / Synthetic Organic Chemist with experience
in small molecule drug design and discovery to join the group of Professor Alessio Ciulli as a
Postdoctoral Research Assistant within the expanding Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation
(CeTPD) at the University of Dundee. This position is part of an academic, multi-disciplinary drug
discovery team being formed within the Ciulli group, funded by the Cancer Grand Challenges, within
KOODAC(https://cancergrandchallenges.org/teams/koodac).KOODAC’s mission is to discover and
develop small-molecule drugs that degrade key oncogenic drivers of solid tumours in children, as a
novel therapeutic paradigm to treat pediatric cancers. The team will develop two types of degraders
– proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and molecular glue degraders. Both classes of degraders
work by recruiting a ubiquitin E3 ligase to a target protein to induce target’s ubiquitination and
degradation, leading to cell death. The team will focus on developing degraders for the ALK,
DNAJB1::PRKACA, MYCN, EWSR1::FLI1 and PAX3::FOXO1 (or PAX7::FOXO1) oncoproteins, which have been
implicated in the development and/or spread of neuroblastoma, fibrolamellar hepatocellular
carcinoma, medulloblastoma, Ewings sarcoma and fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma, respectively, in
children.
The successful candidate will be expected to design, synthesize and characterise novel
small-molecule degraders. You will boost the automated-syntheses and structure-guided medicinal
chemistry approaches the team are taking to develop degrader drug candidates. You will work closely
with the Senior Lead Scientist and the other PDRAs within the team in the Ciulli Lab, as well as
scientists at our collaborating partners of the KOODAC project to develop a platform for the
discovery, characterisation and development of degraders for the oncoproteins of interest.
Compounds that show promise will enter an optimisation pipeline designed to produce orally
bioavailable degraders that can be evaluated in the clinic and will dramatically improve cure rates
for children affected by these cancers.
Candidate Requirements:
• A Ph.D. in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery or a related
discipline.
• High-level of expertise in synthetic organic chemistry and synthetic route design.
• Outstanding academic and/or industrial track record.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
• Capable of working in a diverse team, but able to plan and work independently.
• Exceptional time management, organisational and self-motivational skills.
• An open and collaborative approach to science.
Preferred skills:
• Experience with structure-based drug design and studying protein-ligand interactions.
• Experience with the development of PROTACs and/or molecular glue degraders.
• Understanding of pharmacology, metabolism and pharmacokinetics and other medicinal chemistry
principles necessary for lead optimisation processes.
The position is available immediately and for a fixed-term of 5 years. For further information about this role contact Professor Alessio Ciulli at a.ciulli@dundee.ac.uk. To find out more about Group please visit the group’s Website.
The Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation is part of a growing Life Sciences Innovation District,
an ecosystem of organisations and people within the life sciences sector in Dundee driving
innovation and local economic growth. Opened since January 2023, CeTPD is a first of its kind
Centre leading a number of internationally significant projects in the burgeoning new area of
translational chemical biology and targeted protein degradation. The goal of CeTPD is to innovate a
next-generation of small-molecule technology platforms and modalities to advance chemical and
biological insights and therapeutic targets related to human diseases. It aspires to achieve this
by redefining new models of open collaboration with academic, industrial and venture partners, and
by training and inspiring the next-generation of research scientists and leaders.
The diversity of our staff and students helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of
choice for undergraduate, postgraduate and distance learning. Family friendly policies, staff
networks for BME, Disabled and LGBT staff, membership of Athena SWAN, the ECU Race Equality Charter
and Stonewall as well a full range of disability services, create an enjoyable and inclusive place
to work.
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