PhD Studentship in Medicinal Chemistry - Hydrophobic Warheads to Expand Covalent Drug Discovery

Award Summary

100% fees covered (Home), and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £21,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate).

Overview

The project aims to explore the potential of new warheads for the development of targeted covalent inhibitors for drug discovery. Targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) have vast potential to open new therapeutic avenues for undruggable targets but is currently limited by a lack of novel warheads and screening libraries. This project will involve the the design and synthesis of new covalent fragment screening libraries incorporating novel hydrophobic warheads using a Fraglite design approach (10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00304). This covalent fragment set will be designed for screening by both protein NMR and X-ray crystallography: the key fragment screening techniques. It will be screened against potential protein targets via both protein NMR and X-ray crystallography to identify drug discovery start points for high-value cancer targets. An iterative cycle of design-make-test will be used to optimise hit fragments identified through screening.

This is an opportunity to join a vibrant medicinal chemistry research group focussed on developing new technologies for drug discovery. It is ideally suited for a chemistry graduate looking for a career in organic or medicinal chemistry research.

The project will provide multidisciplinary training in experimental techniques across chemistry and biology, providing a highly desirable skill-set enabling research at the chemistry-biology interface.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

September 2026

Award Duration

4 years

Application Closing Date

8th July 2026

Sponsor

Newcastle University

Supervisors

Dr Hannah Stewart

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Master’s level (or outstanding Bachelor’s) Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry) 

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills. 

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees. 

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8100F
• Select ‘PhD in Chemistry (full time) as the  programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:  

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form
• The studentship code SNES303a in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted regarding your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application. 

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• your CV 

Contact Details

Dr Hannah Stewart, hannah.stewart@newcastle.ac.uk

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