Innovative Drug Discovery: First-in-Class Small Molecules for Unmet Medical Needs
Peking University – College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering
Prof Xiaoguang Lei
Applications accepted all year round. Self-Funded PhD Students Only.
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About the Project
This PhD project will develop first-in-class small-molecule therapeutic candidates for diseases with substantial unmet medical need. The work will span target selection, assay development, compound screening, medicinal chemistry, mechanism-of-action studies and preclinical validation.
You will develop biochemical, biophysical or cell-based assays, identify and validate screening hits, and evaluate potency, selectivity and cellular activity. Structure–activity relationship studies will be conducted in collaboration with synthetic and medicinal chemists. Direct binding, target engagement and pathway modulation will be established using chemical proteomics, structural approaches, imaging, biomarkers and genetic rescue experiments, while structural biology will guide compound design and optimization.
Promising compounds will be tested in disease-relevant models. Applicants from medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, structural biology, and pharmacology are encouraged to apply.
Competitive scholarships are available. Candidates must apply separately for scholarship support. Funding is not guaranteed and is awarded based on academic merit.
Principal Investigator: Professor Xiaoguang Lei
Email: xglei@pku.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-10-6276-0292
Laboratory webpage: https://www.chem.pku.edu.cn/leigroup/
