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Vacancies

We are looking for talented, self-motivated and creative individuals with interests in any of the following areas: supramolecular chemistry, synthesis, physical organic chemistry, biological chemistry, polymer chemistry, computational chemistry. There are opportunities to work on a wide range of different projects as part of a multidisciplinary team in the Hunter lab. If you are interested in joining the group, you should carefully consider what scientific area you would be interested in working on before contacting us.

PhD Studentships Available for 2019

Applications should be emailed to herchelsmith.orgchem@ch.cam.ac.uk enclosing a cover letter, a detailed curriculum vitae and the contact details of two academic referees. Make sure you use the subject "Hunter Lab Vacancies" so that your email is not lost in a spam filter.

PhD studentship in Chemical Biology. The student will based in the laboratory of Professor Chris Hunter in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and will work on a project titled “Multivalent Probes for Protein Aggregates”. The aim of the project is to develop a range of new chemical tools for characterizing and imaging misfolded pathogenic proteins in humans focusing on the development of specific markers for oligomeric forms of these proteins. The appointee will work as part of a larger team in collaboration with the research groups of Professors Klenerman (Biophysical Chemistry), Spillantini (Clinical Neurosciences) and Aigbirhio (Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre). The project will involve the synthesis of libraries of ligands, testing their binding affinity and selectivity for beta-amyloid, tau, alpha-synuclein and p53 proteins, and in collaboration with other members of the team, biological testing.

PhD studentship in Synthetic Supramolecular Chemistry. The student will based in the laboratory of Professor Chris Hunter in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and will work on a project titled “Synthetic Information Molecules”. The aim of the project is to develop new classes of molecules that will offer a programmable alternative to the nucleic acids. The project will involve synthetic chemistry to develop monomeric building blocks equipped with H-bond recognition sites, characterizing the duplex forming properties of oligomers of these building blocks and template synthesis of complementary oligomers. The appointee will interact with other members of a large team working on complementary approaches within the same general framework.

PhD studentship in Membrane Chemistry. The student will based in the laboratory of Professor Chris Hunter in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and will work on a project titled “Artifical Signal Transduction”. The aim is to develop molecular systems capable of transmitting chemical information across a lipid membrane in a similar manner to coupled membrane protein receptors. Transduction of a chemical signal from the outside of a vesicle will be achieved via controlled translocation, which will trigger a chemical process on the inside of the vesicle. The appointee will work as part of a larger team in collaboration with the research group of Professor Nick Williams (University of Sheffield). The project will involve organic synthesis of the building blocks equipped with appropriate recognition sites; studies of the binding properties of these systems; incorporation into vesicles; assessment of recognition triggered transmembrane signalling properties.

PhD studentship in Computational Chemistry. The student will based in the laboratory of Professor Chris Hunter in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and will work on a project titled “Computational Protein-Ligand Docking”. The project is part of a large programme aimed at establishing new accurate quantitative description of non-covalent interactions that can be used to predict condensed phase molecular properties. The appointee will work in collaboration with AstraZeneca on the development of applications of these methods for predicting protein-ligand binding affinities for use in virtual screening of large molecular libraries.

PhD Scholarships

A number of 3 or 4 year PhD scholarships are available each year for talented students who want to work in the Hunter research group. Details of how to apply can be found at http://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/pgapp (in the application form, make sure you tick all the boxes in the section titled FUNDING PATHWAYS).

When you apply, you should also email a copy of the application forms, your CV and a research proposal (a one page outline of a project that you would like to work on in the Hunter lab) to herchelsmith.orgchem@ch.cam.ac.uk. Make sure you use the subject "Hunter Lab Vacancies" so that your email is not lost in a spam filter.

The deadline for applications for entry the following academic year is the end of October, so make sure you apply early.

Post-Doctoral Positions

Post-doctoral vacancies become available regularly, and these posts are advertised at http://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/jobs. However, the timescale for filling these vacancies is usually short, so the best way to guarantee a place in the lab is to secure an independent fellowship. Links to some of the organisations that sponsor fellowships are provided below, but this list is not exhaustive, so it is worth doing your own research. Applicants should email a CV and a research proposal (a one page outline of a project that you would like to work on in the Hunter lab) to herchelsmith.orgchem@ch.cam.ac.uk. Make sure you use the subject "Hunter Lab Vacancies" so that your email is not lost in a spam filter.

Undergraduate Research Projects

Scholarships are available for enthusiastic undergraduate students to carry out summer research projects that last 8-10 weeks.

A number of final year undergraduate (Part III) research projects are available every year.