Postdoctoral Position High-throughput X-ray Crystallography/Structure-Based Drug Discovery at The Institute of Cancer Research

(B494) Postdoctoral Training fellow - High Throughput X-ray Crystallography/Structure-Based Drug Design
Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit and Division of Structural Biology, The Institute of Cancer Research  (Sutton, Surrey & Chelsea, London) 

The Institute of Cancer Research (a college of the University of London) is a world-class cancer research organisation with HEFCE RAE ratings of international excellence across all of its research programmes, including cancer drug discovery and development. In partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, we form the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe, dedicated to research that extends from epidemiology, genetics and molecular biology, through drug discovery and development, to cancer diagnosis and patient treatment.

The Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit (CTU), embedded within the Division of Cancer Therapeutics, is a multidisciplinary 'bench to bedside' centre, comprising around 160 staff dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The CTU's exciting goal is to discover high quality drug candidates for validated biological targets and to progress these candidates to clinical trial. All the scientific disciplines are in place to make this possible, including medicinal chemistry, biology, drug metabolism and clinical specialists.

A postdoctoral position is available immediately in Dr Rob van Montfort's Hit Discovery and Structural Design Team within the CTU. The Post-doc will be involved in high-throughput X-ray crystallography and fragment-based screening and will be responsible for crystallisation and structural analysis of protein-ligand complexes from the CTU's drug discovery programmes. The successful candidate will interact closely with the biology, computational chemistry and medicinal chemistry teams at the CTU as well as with the protein crystallographers in the Division of Structural Biology in which the crystallography efforts of Dr van Montfort's team are embedded. Therefore the successful candidate will be expected to work across the two sites in Chelsea, London and Sutton, Surrey.

Applicants must have a PhD in a biological or physical science, and experience in macromolecular crystallography / crystallisation (to include protein biochemistry, protein crystallisation, & protein crystallography). Experience in molecular biology, protein purification, and/or structure-based drug design will be an advantage.

The starting salary for the position will be in the range £30,289 to £35,040 p.a. inclusive (based on previous post-doctoral experience) and the post is offered initially on a fixed term contract of up to 3 years. Informal enquiries to rob.vanmontfort@icr.ac.uk or isaac.westwood@icr.ac.uk.

Please DO NOT send your application to Dr van Montfort or Dr Westwood; CVs must be submitted in line with the instructions below.

To apply please email your CV and covering letter (addressing where you meet the person specification and including the names and addresses of three referees), to: recruitment@icr.ac.uk quoting reference number B494. For a job description and person specification visit www.icr.ac.uk or call our 24 hour recruitment line on 020 7153 5475. In a separate email, please send your completed equal opportunities monitoring form http://www.icr.ac.uk/jobs/current_vacancies/4959.doc  to the same email address quoting the job reference number above.

Closing date:  12^th October 2011

Dr. Rob van Montfort

Team Leader Hit Discovery and Structural Design

Sections of Cancer Therapeutics and Structural Biology

The Institute of Cancer Research

15 Cotswold Road

Sutton SM2 5NG

UK