Postdoctoral Research Associate

About us

UCL is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities with over 11,000 staff and 38,000 students from 150 countries across the globe.

The School of Pharmacy’s Department of Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry offers a world-class environment for research into chemistry which impinges upon medicine.

We are equipped with excellent core facilities including state-of-the-art NMR and mass spectrometry instruments.

Our lively interdisciplinary research community means that you will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of researchers and discover many new opportunities to advance in your career.

About the role

This is a fixed-term role for 2.5 years in the first instance

Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £38,357 - £41,005 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.'

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.’

This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.

About you

We are seeking a postdoctoral research associate to conduct experimental work on Leverhulme Trust-funded project.

The project aims to control the folding of single polymer chains through use of polymer sequence building on previous research within the Serpell group on the folding and self-assembly of sequence-defined polyphosphoesters (phosphoestamers, Chem. Commun., 2022, 58, 12200-12203, Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 5307-5310).

This role is for a qualified chemist who has expertise covering some combination of supramolecular chemistry, polymer science, solid-phase synthesis, nanostructure characterization, and molecular modelling.

Hands-on synthetic experience is essential, as is conceptual understanding of the other aspects above, with practical experience desirable.

The post holder will take the experimental lead on the project, compose papers and present findings at conferences, as well as contribute to the general running of the research group and training of more junior members. They will require excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

What we offer

The post-holder will be supervised by Dr Christopher Serpell and be integrated into an international collaboration with Dr Alex de Vries (University of Groningen). This role will give them an opportunity to develop their expertise across a diverse set of scientific techniques, while contributing to a team set within a multidisciplinary department. There will be opportunities to develop the post-holder’s career through training, gaining experience supervising other students, applying for funding, and networking with the industrial and academic community.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have any queries about the role please contact

The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work – please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/ways-of-working to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

Customer advert reference: B02-08279

Advert information