Postdoctoral researcher in highly selective drug systems against cancer stem cells

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Postdoctoral researcher in highly selective drug systems against cancer stem cells

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Job description

Offer DescriptionWe are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on our project SeleCStem funded by an ERC Starting Grant. You will join an ambitious and impactful project at the intersection of chemistry and biology to fight against cancer stem cells!
Cancer stem cells are a small population of cells within a tumour which typically remain in a quiescent state that is unaffected by standard chemotherapy. However, after treatment, these cells can differentiate into proliferative cancer cells and regenerate a tumour; hence, they are very often responsible for patient relapse. Despite their important role, there is still a lack of selective drugs for these cells. A notable challenge is that these cells have close similarities to our healthy stem cells, which makes it difficult to develop drugs that do not cause side effects in other tissues.
Our group has recently secured funding from the European Research Council for the project SeleCStem, through which we will utilise the activity of the enzyme ALDH to design unprecedented drugs that act selectively inside cancer stem cells. The project includes, but is not limited to, developing light-responsive molecules. This project will be carried out by a team of junior and senior researchers working on complementary approaches. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will be a pivotal figure within our team, contributing to advance several of our proposed approaches throughout this 5-year project. Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Designing molecules using computational approaches.
• Synthesising the designed molecules.
• Determining the photochemical properties of the molecules.
• Evaluating biological activity in previously optimised assays with purified enzymes.
• Studying the activity in cancer cell lines of the molecules.

This project offers a unique opportunity to participate in a highly interdisciplinary project encompassing computational modelling, organic synthesis, photopharmacology, enzyme assays, and cell culture. You will also present your work at our regular group meetings and at national and international conferences.
As a postdoctoral researcher in a young group, you will be given opportunities for growth. While we expect you to have a strong background in synthetic chemistry and ideally some experience in biological assays, we will also teach you new techniques and skills. You will also have opportunities to supervise Master and PhD students, aid in the preparation of grants, and lead projects. We are also looking forward for you to complement our expertise by bringing new ideas!

Where to apply E-maillaia.josacullere@iqac.csic.esRequirementsResearch Field Chemistry » Organic chemistry Education Level PhD or equivalentSkills/QualificationsPhD in Chemistry, Pharmacy, or a related fieldSpecific RequirementsCompetences

• Strong background in synthetic chemistry.
• Experience in biological assays and cell culture will be considered a plus.
• Experience in docking will be considered a plus.
• High level of written and oral English.
• Desirable skills: project leadership, some level of independence, some experience with student supervision, good communication, critical thinking, organisation, time management, perseverance, teamwork, commitment.

Languages ENGLISH Level ExcellentInternal Application form(s) needed2411 Postdoctoral StG job offer.pdfEnglish(308.2 KB – PDF)Additional InformationWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC) Country Spain State/Province Barcelona City Barcelona Postal Code 08034 Street Jordi Girona 18-26 GeofieldContact State/ProvinceBarcelona CityBarcelona WebsiteStreetJordi Girona 18-26 Postal Code08034 E-Maillaia.josacullere@iqac.csic.esSTATUS: EXPIREDShare this page

Expected salary

Location

Barcelona

Job date

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 06:22:32 GMT

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