Research Fellow in Chemistry

University of Nottingham

Area
Chemistry

Location
University Park

Salary
£31,387 to £37,694 per annum, depending on skills and experience (minimum £35608 with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance.

Closing Date
Tuesday 07 April 2026

Reference
SCI528326

---

We are recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, to work on a drug discovery under the supervision of Professor Christopher J. Hayes, working in close collaboration with Professor J. David Brook (School of Life Sciences, Nottingham) as part of the wider Myotonic Dystrophy drug discovery team.

Myotonic dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults and affects about one in 8,000 people. It is a long-term genetic disorder that affects muscle function, and there is currently no treatment available. The project will develop novel kinase inhibitors to treat myotonic dystrophy. This exciting project is a collaboration between researchers based in the Schools of Chemistry, and Life Sciences at University of Nottingham and the University of Oxford.

Candidates should have experience of multi-step synthetic organic chemistry and (preferably) its application to Medicinal Chemistry/Drug Discovery.

---

The successful candidate will carry out the following duties

• Undertake the design and synthesis of a range of novel kinase inhibitors as directed by Professor Chris Hayes.
• Synthesise sufficient quantity of materials to provide samples for evaluation of their efficacy and drug-like properties by collaborators in the Schools of Life Science and other project partners.
• Prepare high quality supporting data for patent applications and publications resulting from the project.
• Liaise with academic collaborators, contribute to the supervision of student projects and to the maintenance and smooth running of the research laboratory.

---

Successful candidates will

• Have a first degree in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or closely related discipline.
• Hold a PhD (or be in process of submission) in medicinal chemistry or synthetic organic chemistry.
• Be available to take up the post from the 1st April 2026.
• Have a track record of productivity in medicinal chemistry or synthetic organic chemistry.
• Have excellent organisational, communication and team working skills.

This post is available from 1st April 2026 and is fixed term until 31/12/2026.

If you are interested about this vacancy, please click 'apply now', complete your details and submit a copy of your CV.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor Chris Hayes, email:
Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted. Information about the School of Chemistry may be found at www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry.

---

Further details

• Job Description/Role Profile