Research Associate in Computational Chemistry (741386)

Faculty of Science

Applications are invited for a Computational Chemistry Research Associate to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team of synthetic chemists, chemical biologists, and data scientists supported by a £3.9M EPSRC Prosperity Partnership Award centred around the development of next generation medicines beyond Lipinski space

FTE: 1.0 (35 hours/week)

Term: Fixed (until 30/09/2029)

Applications are invited for a Research Associate to work in the group of Professor David Palmer at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow). The Research Associate will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team of synthetic chemists, chemical biologists, and data scientists supported by a £3.9M EPSRC Prosperity Partnership Award centred around the development of next generation medicines beyond Lipinski space. This is a multi-year, collaborative endeavour with our industrial partner GSK, and has the overall objective of retooling the underpinning synthesis of oligonucleotides (ONs) and their derivatives, the development of platforms for cell targeting, and new approaches to heterobifunctional molecules. The roles will demand significant interdisciplinary working spanning the enablement of streamlined synthetic approaches to prepare ONs and heterobifunctionals, establishing a biophysical and biological evaluation platform, and generating datasets for the application in AI/ML methods to direct both synthesis and biology.

Working in close collaboration with other scientists at the University of Strathclyde and GSK, you will develop computational methods to accelerate the design of next generation pharmaceuticals beyond Lipinski space. More specifically, you will: (i) elucidate structure-property relationships governing cellular uptake, physico-chemical properties, and efficacy for a novel class of therapeutic oligonucleotides; (ii) model chemical reactivity to aid the design of novel synthetic routes. The research will involve both physics-based modelling (DFT, and classical forcefield based molecular dynamics) and data-driven approaches (AI/ML, informatics).

The role will be based in the Palmer Lab(www.palmer-lab.com) in the Strathclyde Computational and Theoretical Chemistry Hub (SCoTCH, www.scotch-research.com), a centre for excellence in computational molecular science. The centre occupies modern computational laboratories with access to high-performance computing facilities including graphic processing units (GPUs). The centre hosts over 20 PhD students and postdocs offering a vibrant place to work.

This is a fully funded position open to all applicants with right to work in the UK. The proposed start date is 1st October 2025, and is tenable for 4 years.

For any informal enquiries, please contact Professor David Palmer (david.palmer@strath.ac.uk).

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