Research Associate

The role

Research Associate, Organic Synthesis and Biocatalysis

Harnessing the Power of Diels-Alderases in Sustainable Chemoenzymatic Synthesis.

A postdoctoral research position is available to begin as soon as possible funded by the BBSRC. The overall goal of this collaborative project is to develop an optimised platform for biocatalytic Diels-Alder reactions to be used in chemoenzymatic total syntheses of biologically active targets. It will include (i) the design and synthesis of organic compounds required to gain an in-depth understanding of the enzyme-catalysed reactions, (ii) isolation and purification of proteins for in vitro assays with the synthetic substrates (iii) immobilisation of the enzymes and scale-up using flow chemistry, (iv) chemoenzymatic total synthesis of biologically active targets.

This interdisciplinary project will be based in the School of Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Chris Willis and in collaboration with Professor Paul Race (Newcastle University) and Dr Marc van der Kamp (Biochemistry, Bristol) as well as scientists at AstraZeneca in Sweden giving opportunities alongside organic synthesis and biocatalysis to gain further experience of computational methods as well as structural and synthetic biology. For more information about the group and research see: https://willisresearchgroup.wordpress.com/

What will you be doing?

• The design and synthesis of organic compounds for use as substrates required to gain a deeper understanding of enzyme- catalysed [4+2]cycloadditions.
• Structure elucidation using extensive NMR methods and LC-MS.
• Protein isolation, purification and conducting enzyme assays.
• Scale up of assays using flow chemistry.
• Developing chemoenzymatic total syntheses of bioactive targets.
• Collaborating with scientists in Newcastle University, the School of Biochemistry, Bristol and AstraZeneca, Sweden with opportunities to gain experience of computational methods as well as structural and synthetic biology.
• Managing and recording all safety assessments, biological/ chemical material created during the project.
• Engaging in management of the project through communication with collaborators and assisting with drafting publications.
• Assisting in the day-to-day running of a shared research laboratory.
• Assisting with the supervision of Ph.D. and undergraduate project students.

You should apply if

We are seeking a chemist with experience in organic synthesis, structure determination (NMR, LCMS) and with an interest in biocatalysis and natural product research to join this interdisciplinary project working at the chemistry/ biology interface.

Additional information

Contract type: Open ended with fixed funding until 30/04/2026

Work pattern: Full time

Grade: I/pathway 2

Salary: £37,099-£41,732 per annum

School/Unit: School of Chemistry

This advert will close at23:59 GMTon 27/03/2024

The anticipated shortlisting date will be 04/04/2024

The anticipated that interviews will be held week commencing 15/04/2024.

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