Phd Fellowship in Various Project @ University of Copenhagen

Phd Fellowship in Various Project @ University of Copenhagen

Phd Fellowship in Various Project @ University of Copenhagen. Career @ University of Copenhagen. University of Copenhagen invites candidates for Ph.D. fellows in various projects. Check out all the details for the same below:

Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology is offering 3 three-year Ph.D. fellowships in organic chemistry/radiopharmaceutical chemistry. The Ph.D. fellowships are financed by the EU via a MC-ITN-ETN action. As such, the Ph.D. fellowships are a part of a training programme PET-AlphaSy consisting in total 15 Ph.D. students located in 5 European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium). The Ph.D. fellowships will attend common training sessions, e.g. within radiopharmaceutical chemistry or imaging and have secondments at the corresponding partner universities. The fellowships are available from 1 December 2018 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Principal Investigator:  Associate Professor, Matthias Herth, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, E-mail: [email protected], Direct Phone: +45 93565414.

Project 1

Project Description:

Nanomedicines have been proven to be beneficial in diagnosis and therapy. In vivo imaging studies with the help of labeled structures are crucial to develop new nanomedicinal based drugs. In this project, we will develop a new imaging method based on bioorthogonal chemistry. The

tetrazine ligation will be used to establish a so-called pretargeted imaging approach that will be applied to blood-brain-barrier (BBB) permeable antibodies. A set of tetrazines will be synthesized and evaluated in respect to reaction kinetics, ADME properties, BBB permeability, and metabolism. Most promising compounds will be radiolabeled with fluorine-18 and subsequently evaluated in an in vivo system that will be developed within our MC-ITN-ETN network. The project is mainly organic chemistry focused and spiced up with radioactive work. BBB permeable antibodies will be provided from a small-medium sized enterprise, BioArctic, Sweden. In vivo evaluation studies will mainly be carried out at the Werner Siemens Imaging Center, Tuebingen, Germany. A 3-month stay abroad at both partners is requested.

Project 2

Project Description:

Pretargeted imaging displays a novel possibility to image targets with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with improved imaging contrast and lower radiation dose. The tetrazine ligation is one of the most promising bioorthogonal reaction for pretargeted strategies. In this project, a blood-brain-barrier (BBB) permeable antibody will be functionalized selectively with trans-cyclooctene (TCO) functional groups. These TCO groups will enable the selective binding of radiolabeled tetrazines to the mAb in vivo via pretargeted chemistry. Tetrazines will be developed by PhD fellows within our MC-ITN-ETN network and blood-brain-barrier (BBB) permeable antibodies will be provided by H. Lundbeck A/S, Denmark. In particular, this project is focused on novel strategic ideas to increase the amount of TCOs per mAb without disturbing the biological integrity of the mAb. Organic chemistry, ADME studies and biopharmaceutical chemistry techniques are the basis of this project. In vivo evaluation studies will mainly be carried out at the Uppsala University, Sweden and mAb conjugation chemistry at H. Lundbeck A/S, Denmark. Minimum 3 month stay at both partners is requested.

Project 3

Project Description:

Affinity determination, biodistribution and metabolism studies are crucial factors while developing new drugs. This project is embedded in the development of novel Positron-Emission-Tomography (PET) tracers and aims to 3H-label and evaluate prime candidates that will be developed within our MC-ITN-ETN network. These new entities will be used to study ADME and binding characteristics before PET studies are initiated. Small molecules, as well as biomolecules, will be target molecules and as such a broad set of labeling techniques and precursor and reference compounds syntheses will be the major task of this project. This project is a central part of our MC-ITN-ETN network and connects the work between 6 PhD studies mainly developing new drugs and 3 PhD students working to evaluate these structures. Industrial expert knowledge in respect to 3H-labeling will be provided by Novo Nordisk, Denmark. Evaluation studies will mainly be conducted at Stichting VUMC, The Netherlands. A 3-month stay abroad at both partners is requested.

Required qualifications:
Obtained a Master´s degree in chemistry, pharmacy or related areas prior to the starting date
Fluency in English and excellent communication skills.

Preferred qualifications:
We are looking for highly motivated individuals with a strong background in/experience with organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry, pharmacy or similar.

Job description:
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty are to:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision.
•  Write scientific articles and the PhD thesis on the grounds of your research project
•   Complete PhD courses or another equivalent education corresponding to approx 30 ECTS points
•  Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Participate in the undergraduate teaching of students in pharmaceutical sciences Participate in national and international congresses and scientific meetings
• Stay at an external research institution, preferably abroad

Terms of employment: The position as a PhD fellow is available for a 3-year period.

How To Apply:

The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW above for each project of interest. Your application must include:

• Cover letter: Letter stating the interest in and qualifications for the project (max. one page)
  Full CV
• Diploma and transcripts of records: Master´s degree diploma (including grade transcripts for bachelor´s and master´s degrees).
• Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used Possible publication list.

Deadline for applications 30 September 2018

View Orignal Notification