Postdoctoral Fellow

NIH National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD and surrounding area

Scientific focus area

Neuroscience,Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics,Structural Biology,Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,Molecular Pharmacology

A postdoctoral fellowship is now available in the National Institute on Aging Transgenics Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, to develop ALDH1A1 activators as a neuroprotective strategy for Parkinson’s disease.

Prospective fellows will focus on structure-guided and/or virtual screening and biochemical validation of ALDH1A1-mediated DOPAL detoxification, LC-MS/MS-based dopamine metabolite analysis, and the testing of candidate compounds in dopaminergic neuron and Parkinson’s disease models.

Applicants with training in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, enzymology, pharmacology, computational chemistry, neuroscience, and/or neurodegeneration are strongly encouraged to apply. Experience with enzyme kinetics, small-molecule screening, LC-MS/MS, dopamine metabolism, iPSC-derived neurons, or Parkinson’s disease models is also highly desirable.

What you'll need to apply

Interested applicants should send a current CV, a brief research statement, and the contact information of three professional references to Dr. Huaibin Cai the email below.

Applicants should have, or be close to completing, a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in Chemical biology, Medicinal chemistry, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Enzymology, Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Computational chemistry and/or structure-based drug discovery.

Strong candidates will have experience in one or all aspects of relevant biochemistry, including Small-molecule screening, drug discovery, enzyme kinetics, metabolomics, dopamine metabolism, aldehyde biology, molecular docking, virtual screening, and structure-based compound design.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply. NIH welcomes foreign nationals with the exception of individuals from this list .