Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow in Biological Chemistry University of Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom

The Thomas Group is seeking to recruit a highly motivated and skilled organic chemist with excellent analytical chemistry and chromatography experience for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate/Fellow post for 12 months, based in the Biodiscovery Institute as a member of the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham.

An exciting opportunity to join a well-established and multidisciplinary research team comprising of chemists, life scientists, and structural and computational biologists for a substantial BBSRC-funded project 'Exploring the metabolic diversity of engineered fungal non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-like enzymes for the development of novel antibiotics'. The work will be conducted in the Biodiscovery Institute which is a large (850 researchers) 'state of the art' facility for multidisciplinary research at the interface between Biology, Chemistry, and Medicine and in the Chemistry and Life Sciences buildings. The successful candidate will use a range of analytical methods to purify and characterize new natural products as well as synthesize new enzyme substrates.

The successful candidate will have delegated responsibility for safe laboratory practice within the group and contribute to the smooth running of the research laboratory and the day-to-day supervision of PhD and project students. They will also aid in writing publications, present research at national and international conferences, and liaise with collaborators. In addition to pursuing the goals of the research project, the successful candidate will be given support and freedom to develop their own research ideas. Hence, this position may be particularly attractive to those looking to develop their research independence and leadership skills in a supportive and team-oriented environment.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. (or be near completion) in the relevant subject area or have the equivalent in professional qualifications and experience in the area of research. They should have expertise in HPLC, the interpretation of NMR and Mass spectrometry data as well as significant experience in synthetic organic chemistry. Practical experience in enzyme assays would also be advantageous. Candidates should have excellent organizational, communication, and team-working skills, and experience with the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students would be desirable.