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Postdoctoral Fellow / Researcher
Computational Structural Biology and Computer-Aided Drug Discovery at USC Full-time
Postdoctoral Associate in Computational Structural Biology and Computer-Aided Drug Discovery at USC, Los Angeles
The Katritch lab invites applications for an NIH-funded postdoctoral position at Michelson Center (USC, Los Angeles). Our research program (http://katritch.usc.edu), closely integrating computational and experimental approaches, is aimed at deciphering signaling mechanisms of GPCRs and the discovery of new generation drug candidates targeting these receptors and other important clinical targets.
We are looking for talented researchers to join our team in developing and applying a new generation of molecular modeling and machine learning tools for deciphering structure-function of proteins and protein-ligand interactions; rational ligand design and virtual ligand screening in Giga- and Terra-scale combinatorial libraries. This position involves implementing Machine Learning methods as a part of V-SYNTHES approach, recently published in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04220-9). We use these state-of-the-art methods to discover ligands with new properties for neurobiology and potential clinical applications in the treatment of pain and addiction, inflammation, metabolic and neurodegenerative disease, and cancer.
Our computational studies involve close interactions with structural biologists, synthetic and medicinal chemists at several USC departments, including Bridge Institute, Michelson Center for Convergent Sciences and Keck School of Medicine, and as well as with Psychoactive Drug Screening Program at UNC, MD Anderson Cancer Center at UT, Washington University, Leipzig University, and other established collaborators. Since the inception of the lab at USC in 2015, our work has been published in more than 60 high-impact papers, including 10 articles in Nature journal. The position is funded by NIH and internal USC grants, and offers highly competitive salaries, a vibrant interdisciplinary environment, and excellent opportunities for career development in both academia and industry.
Job Requirements
– Ph.D. in computational chemistry / chemistry/ biophysics/ bioinformatics/ computer sciences / chemical engineering or a related field
– Demonstrated experience in structural bioinformatics, molecular modeling, computational chemistry and cheminformatics applications to drug design
– Programming and scripting skills (Python and at least some of the following: Perl, C++, Linux shell, Pipelining, knowledge of Java and database management)
– Hands-on experience with at least one of the major drug discovery software packages (Molsoft ICM, Schrodinger, OpenEye)
– Demonstrated expertise in molecular dynamics studies of GPCRs and other membrane proteins is a plus
– Established record of high-quality scientific research and publications
– Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and scientific creativity are essential.
– Excellent verbal and written communication skills
The position is available immediately. Qualified applicants should send a CV and contact information for at least 3 references to Prof. Vsevolod
“Seva” Katritch (katritch[a]usc.edu). Applications will be considered until the position is filled.