PhD Vacancy

The Carlsson research group at Stockholm University is seeking a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in computational chemistry. The goal of the research is to improve atomic level understanding of receptor-ligand interactions using computational models. Using physics-based methods such as molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking, the project will focus on how small molecules interact with membrane proteins and thereby modulate their function.

There has been a dramatic increase of structural information for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) during the last five years. The group are interested in how these crystal structures can be used to understand GPCR function and to identify novel ligands of these receptors. The project involves (1) Development of new approaches for homology modeling of membrane proteins, (2) Structure-based discovery of GPCR ligands using molecular docking, and (3) Molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. All projects are carried out in close collaboration with experimental groups.

The Carlsson research group is part of the department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (DBB) at Stockholm University (http://www.dbb.su.se/), which has about 20 research groups. Several of these groups are also part of the Center for Biomembrane Research (CBR, http://www.cbr.su.se/), which provides a first class environment for both experimental and computational research focused on membrane proteins.

More information about the grup is available at www.carlssonlab.org.

The applicant must hold a PhD degree in physics or chemistry and have expertise in programming and at least one of the following areas: Protein structure prediction, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations.

Interested individuals should send an e-mail to jens.carlsson.lab@gmail.com containing their CV, brief summary of previous research, and contact information to three references.

Starting date: Septeber – October 2012.