Institute Associate Scientist IV - Medicinal Chemistry

The mission of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.

MD Anderson is known for providing cancer patients with exceptional care, which includes early access to innovative new treatments through clinical trials. The Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) within the Therapeutics Discovery Division is a hybrid model that uniquely combines the drug discovery capabilities of the biopharmaceutical industry and the extensive knowledge of biology found in academia with the expertise of MD Anderson's top clinicians. IACS has the singular goal of rapidly developing novel, effective and safe therapeutics that improve patient health. IACS executes programs with the highest probability of clinical success in a rigorous, goal-oriented, data-driven manner.

The Institute Associate Scientist IV, Medicinal Chemistry, participates in cross-functional research to discover novel oncology therapeutic agents that benefit patients. The candidate will be a highly creative synthetic chemist with a strong desire to succeed at the highest level, and will be responsible for the synthesis of small molecule targets to advance IACS oncology drug discovery projects to the next generation of cancer therapeutics.

JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

1. Independently conduct laboratory experiments to synthesize novel small molecules and support target validation and lead optimization activities within drug discovery projects.
2. Execute a variety of organic chemistry manipulations, including those with air sensitive and hygroscopic reagents; perform routine purification of intermediates and final products utilizing techniques such as HPLC, flash chromatography; characterize compounds using analytical instrumentation such as HPLC, LCMS, and NMR.
3. Efficiently execute multistep syntheses, and productively synthesize analogs. Perform scale-up operations.
4. Efficiently plan ahead for requirements and smooth execution of multistep syntheses; efficiently manage weekly workload and assignment deadlines.
5. Independently carry out retrosynthetic analyses to design or optimize synthetic routes to targets.
6. Independently trouble-shoot synthetic problems and propose viable synthetic modifications.
7. Propose new synthetic targets, and contribute to the design of new small molecule modulators of protein targets.
8. Leverage latest synthetic approaches, parallel chemistry and purification techniques.
9. Participate in integrated drug discovery research activities by interacting with scientists of different disciplines.

Education

Required: Bachelor's degree in one of the natural sciences or related field.
Preferred: Master's degree in organic chemistry or medicinal chemistry.

Experience

Required: Five years of relevant research laboratory work. With preferred degree, three years of relevant research laboratory work.

EDUCATION:
Required: Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, enzymology, pharmacology, chemistry or related field.

Preferred: Master's degree in organic chemistry or medicinal chemistry.

EXPERIENCE:
Required: Five years of relevant research experience in lab. With preferred degree, three years of required experience.

The ideal candidate will have a Master's degree in organic or medicinal chemistry with expert knowledge in synthetic organic chemistry, with demonstrated ability to conduct challenging multi-step organic chemistry syntheses and overcome synthetic hurdles. Experience in the medicinal chemistry field acquired in pharma or biotech environment, and understanding of the drug discovery process, will be a plus. Demonstrated team player who possesses excellent problem solving capabilities, and can independently contribute to the success of projects.

It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html