Research Assistant Professor

Research Assistant Professor

• Syracuse
• Physician, Faculty & Librarians
• Full-time
• Opening on:
  Jan 6 2026
• Surgery-General
• Research Foundation
• Research Scientist, E89
• 87903
• N/A

Experimentation (50% of time) The chemist will conduct a wide-ranging set of experiments to develop therapies to target novel cancer drivers including and will display excellent expertise in development of high throughput screens to identify molecules (catalytic inhibitors or PROTACs) that target cancer drivers in low nanomolar concentrations that can be utilized as hit molecules for drug discovery projects. Expertise in various in vivo mouse models that include cell line based xenografts, patient derived xenografts, and PK/PD models to understand liabilities of hit molecules to optimize molecules to take forward as lead compounds in toxicology studies (i.e. address issues such as Herg channel binding, permeability issues, bioavailability etc..).

A major focus will be the design (primarily) and occasional synthesis of PROTACs, small molecule inhibitors, ADCs, and other proximity-inducing ligands, such as RIPTACs.

Manuscript Preparation (25% of time) The candidate will take a leading role in preparing manuscripts related to the projects and will be a first-author or corresponding author on all manuscripts. The applicant will be an excellent writer and very meticulous scientist in regard to figure preparation and data collection.

Grant Preparation for the lab (25% of time):
The applicant will take a leading role moving forward to assist me in preparing grants for the lab, including grants to secure outside funding with a primary focus on novel therapeutic modalities for the treatment of HNSCC, ESCC, LSCC, and ovarian cancer.

Team lead on patent preparation, patent submission, and licensing of patents (5% of time) The applicant will be an inventor and a critical contributor on developing all new compounds from the lab and will play an active role in developing companies to advance the cancer therapies to the clinic.

This position will head up the medicinal chemistry efforts for the Cancer Signaling and Therapeutics Lab at Upstate Medical University. The applicant will lead efforts in the synthesis of various therapeutic modalities including small molecule inhibitors, PROTACs, RIPTACs, antibody-drug conjugates, and proximity-induced ligands that target novel cancer targets. The candidate will have a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a strong publication track record to demonstrate proficiency in chemical synthesis and drug design.

Work Days:
Monday - Friday (Daytime Hours)

Salary Range/Pay Rate:
Message to Applicants:
Please submit CV and cover letter with application. Recruitment Office:
Aurora Venden, Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development