PhD studentship in Medicinal Chemistry - ‘Development of novel Silanediol HDAC inhibitors for the treatment of cancer’

Applications are invited from Graduates in Chemistry, Pharmacy and Medicinal Chemistry programs to join our group. The project encompasses the synthesis and biological screening of a novel group of new protease inhibitors for the treatment of cancers.

Histone Deacetylase enzymes are zinc dependent metalloproteases which are involved in chromatin remodeling and gene expression by acetyl cleavage from histone lysine residues. It is a promising target for inhibitors as hyper-acetylation leads to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in tumor cells. Therefore, our project will involve the following a. combinatorial synthesis of a library of diverse structural silanediol analogues; b. iterative testing of the compound library will be undertaken in-house and international biology partners to elucidate the biological activity and aid the design of more potent analogues. You will undertake the synthesis and in-house testing of these compounds in our world leading facilities, where you will have access to state of the art laboratories and analytical equipment.

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent. A strong background in chemical synthesis, with a knowledge of microbiological techniques and protein purification being advantageous.

This award is available to UK/EU and international applicants. If English is not your first language, you must have IELTS 7 with at least 6.5 in the written component, or equivalent.

How to apply

Please apply through the University’s Postgraduate Application portal (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/). Only mandatory fields need to be completed however, you will need to include the following information:

•insert the programme code 8300F in the programme of study section
•select ‘PhD in the Faculty of Medical Sciences – Pharmacy’ as the programme of study
•attach a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote the reference code PH005 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project.