Employment Opportunities

We are always looking for motivated undergraduate students to join our lab. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Swati More at for current availability of space. [email protected]

A Postdoctoral Associate position is available immediately at the Center for Drug Design, University of Minnesota for an interdisciplinary drug discovery project.

The Center for Drug Design is a dynamic workplace where biochemists and chemists interact to facilitate drug discovery. https://drugdesign.umn.edu

Required/Preferred Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
Candidates should have earned a Ph.D. degree with a major in the pharmaceutical sciences (including medicinal chemistry), or a related discipline. At least two-year research experience in the neuroscience field would be a plus.

Preferred Qualifications: 
Experience working with cell culture, animal handling, animal behavior assessment, and microscopy is preferred. Ability to conduct basic biology techniques including ELISA, SDS-PAGE, western blot, PCR, and other basic assays.

Duties/Responsibilities

Design and perform (1) cell culture and cell-based assays (2) enzymatic reactions (3) mouse experiments involving breeding, drug administration, and behavioral tests (4) various types of microscopy and biochemical assays. Observe current laboratory safety practices and follow relevant protocols. Submit periodic written reports with details of experimental procedures and results. The candidate will also be expected to write manuscripts reporting research findings, participate in grant proposal writing, and maintain a continually updated knowledge base of literature pertaining to specific projects. Other duties as assigned.  

Interested candidates should submit a pdf with cover letter, CV, and names/info of three references to Dr. Swati More at [email protected].

One PK Scientist Position – Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy

A Pharmacokinetics (PK) Scientist position is immediately available in the PK core at the Center for Drug Design (CDD), College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota. The CDD PK core is an approved Internal Sale Organization (ISO) that routinely performs a wide range of in vitro ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) assays, in vivo rodent PK studies and related bioanalysis to support drug discovery research within the Center and the University. The successful candidate for this position will assist the PI to manage this PK core facility and be responsible for carrying out the ADMET/PK assays as well as other research tasks and activities assigned by the PI. 

Information about the Center for Drug Design (CDD) is available on the CDD website: https://drugdesign.umn.edu/.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

ADMET/PK assays and bioanalysis (70%)

• Carry out in vitro ADMET assays to assess the “drug-like” properties of small molecules, including but not limited to microsomal stability assay, plasma stability assay, plasma protein binding assay, permeability assays (Caco-2, MDCK, or PAMPA), solubility assay, CYP450 inhibition. This includes 1) conduct careful experimentation following standard operating procedures or optimized procedures as needed, 2) prepare and analyze samples generated in the assays, 3) analyze the data to obtain corresponding ADMET parameters.
• Plan and execute all aspects of in vivo PK studies in animals (mouse, rats, or other laboratory rodents) to profile fundamental PK parameters. This includes 1) assist with protocols for studies in animals, 2) conduct careful experimentation (animals dosing, samples collection and quantitation) in compliance with established IACUC protocols, internal animal welfare guidelines and requirements, 3) data analysis and modeling using Phoenix WinNonlin software to obtain fundamental pharmacokinetics parameters, e.g., drug bioavailability, clearance, volume of distribution, and terminal half-life.
• Conduct procedures for all aspects of bioanalysis to quantify compounds in biological samples using LC-MS/MS or other analytical tools. This includes 1) assist in developing methods to extract and detect parent drugs and metabolites in complex biological matrices including plasma, serum, urine, cells lysate, tissue homogenate, etc., 2) carry out biological samples preparation and extraction, 3) characterize and quantify parent drugs and metabolites in extracted samples, 4) analyze the data using software such as Analyst, MultiQuant, Excel, GraphPad Prism.

Other research tasks (25%)

• Maintain good research records.
• Write routine summary reports on results of work and confer with the PI on interpretation of results.
• Perform other research tasks as assigned.
• Assist in maintaining laboratory equipment such as LC-MS/MS.

General lab duties (5%)

• Maintain an adequate supply of common laboratory reagents and consumables.
• Sterilize supplies as needed.
• Maintain compliance with safety procedures and guidelines.

Supervision:

• This PK scientist will report to Dr. Jiashu Xie.

Required Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences-related field(s) and 2 years of related experience or BS/BA and 4 years related experience or a combination of training and work experience of more than 8 years in the Pharmacokinetics and Bioanalytical fields. It should be noted that applicants with Ph.D.’s, while not a requirement, should not be deterred from applying.
• Must be willing to work with mice, rats, or other laboratory rodents.
• Hands-on experience in biochemical / bioanalytical assays and cell culture.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience in conducting ADMET/PK assays.
• Experience in LC-MS/MS bioanalysis.
• Experience in laboratory rodents handling, drug administration using intravenous / intraperitoneal injections and oral gavage, blood withdrawal.
• Knowledge of principles, concepts, practices, and methods in pharmacokinetics and /or bioanalytical research to solve relatively complex research-related problems and work assignments.
• Strong interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills.

Working Conditions: 

• The majority of the work in this position is performed in a multidisciplinary wet lab.

Interested candidates should submit a PDF package with a cover letter, CV, and names/info for three references to Dr. Jiashu Xie via email at [email protected].