Duke University, Computer Science

Position ID:Duke-CS-PDA_DLAB [#24179]
Position Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Structural Biology
Position Type:Postdoctoral
Position Location:Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States [map] sort by distance
Subject Area: Computer Science / Computational Biology
Appl Deadline: (posted 2023/01/17, listed until 2023/12/31)
Position Description:    

*** the listing date or deadline for this position has passed and new applications are no longer accepted. ***

Job Description: A postdoctoral research associate position is available in the Donald Lab at Duke University to work in the areas of protein design, inhibitor design, protein structure prediction, or machine learning, with an emphasis on structural biology. The candidate will be responsible for the design and development of algorithms for structural molecular biology and their application to the design of therapeutics and analysis of protein targets of significant biochemical and pharmacological interest. Experience in algorithms, computational biology, structural biology, or software development is required. The title of the position is “Research associate” and a PhD or equivalent is required.

The Lab: The determination and prediction of three-dimensional protein structures is essential for revealing molecular mechanism of disease processes, and also for structure-based drug design. Concomitantly, technological advances in protein design will revolutionize therapeutic treatment. With these advances, proteins and other molecules can be designed to act on today’s undruggable proteins or tomorrow’s drug resistant diseases. The Donald Laboratory specializes in computational and experimental studies of protein structure and design. We are funded by an established-investigator NIGMS MIRA award from NIH. Our studies of protein structures, dynamics, and design methodology will illuminate targets of biochemical and pharmacological significance, and the design of new therapeutics can alleviate mortality, morbidity, and human suffering.

Our lab is distinguished by using sophisticated algorithms from computer science and mathematics to develop cutting-edge software for the design of reagents and therapeutics. Some of the most challenging and influential opportunities for Physical Geometric Algorithms (PGA) arise in developing and applying information technology to understand the molecular machinery of the cell. Recent work shows that PGA techniques may be fruitfully applied to the challenges of structural molecular biology and rational drug design. Concomitantly, a wealth of interesting computational problems arise in proposed methods for discovering new pharmaceuticals.

Position requirements: Ideal candidates should hold a PhD in the area of computer science, computational biology, applied mathematics or a related area and have experience in computational biology, structural biology, or machine learning. Programming skills in Java as well as basic knowledge in parallel computing is desirable. Experience using Osprey would be a plus.

Our team: The candidate will join a highly dynamic team of researchers that span several departments at Duke University, including Computer Science, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Engineering, and Mathematics, and others. The group emphasizes collaborative and multidisciplinary work bringing together expertise from various areas of science including computer science, mathematics, engineering and the life sciences with activities that encompass the College of Arts and Sciences, the Pratt School of Engineering, and the Duke University School of Medicine. To perform our research we have dedicated access to high-performance CPU/GPU resources. All of the software we develop is open source, and our team has an excellent record of scientific publications and job placement.

How to apply: Candidates should submit a one-page cover letter, CV, brief statement of research experience and interests, and the name of two or three references.

For more information about the laboratory: Please visit https://www.cs.duke.edu/brd/home.html and https://www.cs.duke.edu/donaldlab/

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT: Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Duke also makes good faith efforts to recruit, hire, and promote qualified women and minorities.

Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.


Application Materials Required:
Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:
And anything else requested in the position description.

Further Info:
https://www.cs.duke.edu/donaldlab/
email address
(919) 660-6500
 
Department of Computer Science
Box 90129
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708