PhD fellow in Biostructural Research and ADME(1 Position) in University of Copenhagen, Denmark

We have an open position for a PhD fellow in the Section for Biostructural Research, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark starting at the earliest convenience, no later than March 1^st 2014.

 

The application deadline is August 16^th 2013.

 

Project title: In silico models for aldehyde oxidase.

 

Project description

The PhD project is part of an on-going project called Cytochromes P450s and Drug Metabolism and will focus on prediction of inhibition and metabolism by aldehyde oxidase enzymes.

 

In recent years the importance of aldehyde oxidase in drug metabolism has grown, as attempts to avoid cytochrome P450 mediated metabolism has led to observations of more aldehyde oxidase substrates as well as inhibitors. Thus, new chemical entities are often more prone to be affected by or inhibit aldehyde oxidases than what they used to be. However, so far there are no predictive models for either inhibition or metabolism of drugs by aldehyde oxidase.

 

The primary goal of this project is to develop computer models for prediction of inhibition and metabolism by aldehyde oxidase enzymes. An approach that combines state-of-the-art computational approaches within cheminformatics, molecular mechanics, and quantum chemistry will be used. This approach has previously been applied to cytochrome P450 mediated metabolism, which resulted in the open source SMARTCyp software developed in our lab (http://www.farma.ku.dk/smartcyp/). The literature will be mined for data, and reaction barriers will be evaluated by density functional theory calculations of transition states with cofactor complexes including molybdenum. Binding to the enzyme will be investigated using a combined approach of cheminformatics and molecular mechanics.

 

The developed models will reduce risk for drug attrition due to aldehyde oxidase interactions and will be released as open source software.

 

This project is part of the EU-funded project ARIADME: Analytical Research in ADME profiling, the PhD candidate is expected to contribute to network wide training events of the ARIADME project.

 

Supervision

This research project will be performed at the Section for Biostructural Research, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The principal supervisor will be Associate Professor Lars Olsen, email: lo@sund.ku.dk, direct phone +45 3533 6305.

 

Required qualifications

The successful candidate must hold a relevant MSc degree equivalent to minimum 5 years full time college education. A candidate with experience in computational chemistry using density functional theory on model systems of enzyme-substrate reactions will be preferred. Experience with ligand-based and structure-based methods (docking, MD) will also be an advantage. Solid level of English and good general communication skills are an advantage.

 

General job description

Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty are to:

·         manage and carry through your research project

·         take PhD courses

·         write scientific articles and your PhD thesis

·         participate in national and international congresses and scientific meeting

·         stay at an external research institution (Lhasa Ltd, Leeds, UK)

·         teach and disseminate your research
·         participate in the undergraduate teaching of students in pharmaceutical sciences

 

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

·         The grade point average achieved

·         Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD programme

·         Previous publications

·         Relevant work experience

·         Other professional activities

·         Language skills

·         The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good
           interpersonal skills

 

Formal requirements

The position is available for a three-year period for applicants holding a relevant master´s degree.

 

The candidate should have less than 4 years of research experience and must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity in Denmark for more than 12 months during the last 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment.

 

It is a prerequisite that the PhD candidate is enrolled as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences according to the rules stipulated in the Ministerial order on the PhD programme at the universities (PhD order) from the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Higher Education and the guidelines for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

 

The PhD fellow is expected to be affiliated to the graduate programme, Drug Research Academy.

 

Terms of employment

Salary and other terms of employment are stated in the Protocol on PhD Research Fellows signed by the Danish Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

 

For Applying and details: click here