PhD student in structure-based drug design with focus on machine learning

Are you interested in working with structure-based drug design, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology is organized into seven research programmes which all focus on different areas of cell and molecular biology: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Biophysics, Molecular Evolution, Molecular Systems Biology and Structural Biology. The scientific basis of what we do lies in biology, but our research overlaps with other areas such as medicine, computer science, mathematics, chemistry, engineering sciences and physics. In total, we are over 200 staff and ~60 Ph.D. students. Please read more about the department’s work at https://icm.uu.se.

The PhD position is available in Jens Carlsson’s group in the computational biology and bioinformatics programme. Jens Carlsson’s research focuses on using molecular modeling techniques to study protein-ligand interactions. The Carlsson group uses structure-based methods (e.g., molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations) to understand protein function and to design ligands of pharmaceutically important targets, often in close collaboration with experimental groups. The Carlsson group is an international research team and is also part of the Science for Life Laboratory (http://www.scilifelab.se/).   Visit the group website for more information (http://www.carlssonlab.org/).

Duties
At Uppsala University, we are looking to fill a PhD position in computational chemistry. As a doctoral student, you will work on developing and applying computational methods to identify ligands (small molecules and peptides) that bind to therapeutically relevant receptors, with the vision of accelerating the development of new drugs. The work involves several challenges within structure-based drug design and includes exploring new techniques based on artificial intelligence. You will combine machine learning and virtual screening to search for ligands in chemical libraries containing several billion molecules. The methods you develop will be used to design molecules that bind to receptors and enzymes. The molecules you identify will then be synthesized and experimentally tested by collaborators.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in biology, chemistry, pharmacy, physics, computer science or within another subject which the employer considers to be equivalent, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

Excellent written and oral knowledge of English is required as the work takes place in an international environment.

Additional qualifications
Experience in modelling of proteins, computer-aided drug design, molecular docking, cheminformatics, machine learning, and scientific programming is preferred, but not required.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date as soon as possible or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact:  Jens Carlsson, jens.carlsson@icm.uu.se,  Tel: +46 (0)72 227 7976.

Please submit your application by 9th of July, UFV-PA 2025/2029

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