Research Fellow in MD Simulation of Biologics Formulations

About us

The team in the Department of Biochemical Engineering at UCL carries out world-leading UKRI and company sponsored research on biopharmaceutical formulation. Many antibody-based therapies have been developed and marketed to treat or prevent a range of diseases. Novel antibodies have to meet a wide range of criteria including stability and physical properties in solution that are necessary for them to be safely stored and administered to patients. While many of these properties can be controlled by carefully designed formulations, some have the potential to be mitigated through protein engineering. Such changes can often be informed through mechanistic understanding of the destabilising processes.

About the role

This industry-sponsored project will explore molecular dynamics simulations of an antibody in specific formulations and storage conditions to gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of the experimentally observed routes of destabilisation. The PDRA in molecular dynamics simulation of biologics, at UCL, will investigate the stability of antibodies in storage and product formulations. They will also analyse the simulation data to characterise and understand the impacts of formulations upon stability and aggregation behaviours. The PDRA position will be offered for 6 months, and the post is available from 1 Oct 2025.

About you

The candidate will have a PhD in protein chemistry, biophysics, formulation or molecular dynamics simulation disciplines, with relevance to the formulation and analysis of biopharmaceutical proteins.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. Our department holds an Athena Swan Gold award in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

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