The Reker Laboratory at Duke University has an opening for a Postdoctoral Associate in Active Learning-driven Drug Development. The ideal candidate will have completed a PhD in Computational Chemistry, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences or a related discipline and devoted a major part of their thesis to the development of machine learning approaches to predict properties for small chemical structures.
The Reker Lab is a fully integrated laboratory with equal commitment, expertise, and infrastructure in computation and in wet-lab biology and chemistry. Our 600 sq. ft wet laboratory is fully equipped for small molecule synthesis and handling, nanoparticle design and characterization, tissue culture, and microbiology. Our 600 sq. ft. dry lab is integrated into the AI.health environment and has priority access to the Duke Computer Cluster with 600 GPUs and 18,000 CPUs.
The Postdoctoral Associate will work on projects to integrate property prediction approaches within active learning workflows and into prospective drug discovery and design studies. We have started prospective drug design campaigns against prostate cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and precision microbiome therapy in our own laboratory or together with world-class collaborators at Duke University and the Duke Medical School.
What we are looking for:
- Previous research experience in machine learning model development for molecular property prediction and QSAR/QSPR in Python (RDKit, sklearn, deepchem, Keras)
- Track record of (open source) code development and publications
- Able to work in a team and mentor others
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills
- Previous experience with computational docking, homology modelling, and molecular dynamic simulations is a plus
- Previous experience in organic synthesis and analytics is a plus
- Previous experience in tissue culture is a plus
What we offer:
- Fully funded, two year position in the world-class and collaborative Duke environment, integrated in the Health.AI environment, the Pratt School of Engineering, and the Duke Medical School. Duke BME is ranked #3 in the US according to "U.S. News & World Report" and strives thanks to its collaborative and supportive environment.
- Leadership opportunities in multiple projects with potential for high impact publications, patent applications, and skill and professional development.
- Opportunities to mentor diverse undergraduate and graduate students.
- Durham NC is the 2nd "Best Place to Live in the US" according to the "U.S. News & World Report" with high quality of living and low cost of living. The recent announcements of Google Cloud to build its hub in Durham and Apple to build its first east coast campus here signal the continuous and rapid growth of the Triangle.
We are accepting applications on a rolling basis. We hope to fill the position by early 2022 but can be flexible for the right candidate. If you are interested, please send an email to daniel.reker (ät) duke.edu with the subject [POSTDOC21] and the following information
- a cover letter
- a curriculum vitae that includes: publications, presentations, leadership and outreach activities
- a link to your public code repository or a small code sample
- contact information for three references