Post-Doctoral - Department of Pathology

About the role

The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology seeks a highly motivated Post‑Doctoral Fellow with expertise in synthetic chemistry and/or chemical biology. The laboratory focuses on using small molecules as therapeutics and chemical tools to investigate disease‑relevant biology, including novel therapeutics for substance‑use disorders, safer opioid and non‑opioid pain therapeutics, and targeted protein degradation strategies in cancer. The fellow will design, synthesize, characterize, and biologically evaluate small molecules, collaborating across chemical biology, pharmacology, cellular biology, and computational chemistry.

Responsibilities

• Design novel small molecules and develop efficient synthetic routes.
• Synthesize, purify, and characterize target compounds; troubleshoot challenging transformations.
• Characterize compounds using NMR, LC/MS or HRMS, HPLC, IR, and related analytical methods.
• Analyze structure–activity relationships and experimental data to guide compound optimization.
• Collaborate with researchers in chemical biology, pharmacology, cellular biology, and computational chemistry to prioritize experiments and interpret multidisciplinary datasets.
• Contribute to planning, execution, and interpretation of biochemical, cellular, and pharmacological studies as appropriate.
• Maintain accurate laboratory notebooks, experimental records, and compound characterization data.
• Present research findings at lab meetings and scientific conferences; assist in manuscript and grant preparation.
• Mentor and train undergraduate and graduate students and other junior laboratory members.
• Help maintain a safe, organized, collaborative, and professional laboratory environment.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Chemistry, or a closely related field by the start date.
• Demonstrated expertise in organic synthesis, including route design, multistep synthesis, purification, and troubleshooting.
• Experience with compound characterization and structural elucidation using NMR, LC/MS, HPLC, IR, or related techniques.
• Ability to independently plan, execute, analyze, and communicate scientific experiments.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and accurate record‑keeping.
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Commitment to fostering an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying synthetic chemistry to chemical biology, pharmacology, drug discovery, or mechanism‑focused biomedical research.
• Experience with biochemical or cellular assays (e.g., receptor binding, functional assays, protein‑based assays).
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and cell‑based techniques.
• Experience with animal studies, particularly mouse handling and experimental procedures.
• Familiarity with GPCR biology, receptor pharmacology, or small‑molecule signaling pathway studies.
• Knowledge of computational chemistry approaches such as molecular docking, structure‑based modeling, or physicochemical property analysis.
• Understanding of pharmacological, ADME/PK, or related considerations for biologically active small molecules.
• Strong record of scientific productivity (peer‑reviewed publications, presentations, etc.).
• Experience working effectively within multidisciplinary research teams.

Pay

Salary Range: $63,480

Benefits

All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits. Details on eligibility and specific offerings are available on the VCU benefits website.

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

ORP Eligible: Yes

Flexible Work Arrangement: Other

Contact: SOMHR@vcuhealth.org