Postdoctoral Fellowship in Computational Chemistry

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with expertise in Molecular Docking and/or scripting with RDKit to join the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at the University of Toronto in Toronto, ON, Canada. We have a great interest in exploring new frontiers of chemical space for drug discovery using computational approaches. The successful candidate will develop and implement new methods to allow the efficient enumeration and sampling of molecules accessible via new synthetic methods that were previously only accessible via traditional medicinal chemistry, if at all. The resulting libraries will then be virtually screened against medicinally important targets of current interest together with colleagues in Toronto, San Francisco and elsewhere to select molecules that the team will test in vitro, in cells, and ideally, in vivo.

While this position is physically located at the SGC in Toronto, it will be jointly supervised by Matthieu Schapira (University of Toronto) and John Irwin (UCSF).

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conduct research in computational chemistry with application to drug discovery
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• Develop novel libraries and methods that can be applied at a scale relevant for drug discovery campaigns and make them available to expert users
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• Perform and analyze Molecular Docking screens and participate in nominating compounds for synthesis.
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• Attend and actively participate in department and group meetings and present project progress to the broader team
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• Actively work with synthetic chemists to establish mechanisms ensuring the chemical accessibility of virtual libraries.
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• Work with a diverse team of experimentalists at the SGC that will test computational predictions.
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• Author scientific publications and present at conferences

We recognize that the diversity in our team is our strength and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Successful candidates must demonstrate inclusive behaviors in working with a diverse group of scientists to drive our core mission.

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Candidates must currently hold a PhD in Computer Science, Chemistry or Computational Chemistry or a related field OR receive a PhD by Fall 2022.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Experience in writing scientific code (e.g. in Python, bash, C/C++)
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• Second year undergraduate synthetic organic chemistry or equivalent.
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• Experience with Molecular Docking or RDKit and interest in their joint application
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• Ability to formulate and execute a research plan
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• Strong oral and written communication skills

• Ability to communicate, collaborate and deliver results while managing multiple priorities

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Third year undergraduate synthetic organic chemistry or equivalent
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• Experience with experimental testing of small molecules binding to proteins.
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• Collaborative work on large software projects (e.g. on github)

About the Structural Genomics Consortium

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) (https://www.thesgc.org/) is a global public private partnership dedicated to open science and that seeks to accelerate drug discovery by fostering
collaboration among a large network of scientists in academia and industry and by making all research outputs openly available to the scientific community. The current SGC research hubs are
in Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Contact: [email protected]

Closing Date: Saturday 30th April 2022