Research Assistant/Associate in Medicinal Chemistry (Newcastle, GB) at None

Salary:  Research Assistant: £33,002 - £34,610 per annum

             Research Associate: £35,608 - £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 24 September 2025

The Role

This role offers an exciting opportunity for a synthetic organic chemist to apply their skills to medicinal chemistry through the design and synthesis of compounds for biological testing as part of anti-cancer drug discovery projects. The role will also provide the opportunity to learn and develop medicinal chemistry skills as applied to drug design. The role is ideal for someone who has, or is about to be awarded, a PhD in organic or medicinal chemistry and would like to gain experience of drug discovery. It would provide excellent experience for a future career in academic or industrial medicinal chemistry research.

Based in the Medicinal Chemistry Section of the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery Unit, working with Prof. Mike Waring and Dr. Hannah Stewart, you will join a vibrant multidisciplinary group of chemists, bioscientists and structural biologists working at the forefront of anti-cancer drug discovery with an excellent track record of successfully bringing new cancer medicines to market.

The focus of the project is the optimisation of compounds that inhibit a critical protein target that will lead to drugs for currently untreated cancer types. It employs cutting-edge structure based drug design and property-based optimisation approaches to optimise compounds to drug candidates.

The Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit is a founder member of Cancer Research Horizons – Therapeutic Innovation (CRH-TI), CRUK’s exciting new vehicle dedicated to translating basic research into patient benefit. To learn more about CRH-TI, click here, and to learn more about our approach to small molecule drug discovery in Newcastle, click here

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

The role is a full-time, fixed term (12 months) position in the first instance.  Candidates who are about to be awarded their PhD are encouraged to apply.  The start date will ideally be October 2025, but some flexibility is possible.

Informal enquiries can be made to Prof. Mike Waring [email protected] or Dr. Hannah Stewart [email protected].

Applications should be made through the Newcastle University jobs portal: https://jobs.ncl.ac.uk, where you are invited to provide evidence of how you meet the essential criteria required for the role outlined in ‘The Person’ by uploading a letter of application along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Key Accountabilities

• Synthesis of target molecules for biological testing
• Development of optimised synthetic routes to target compounds
• The purification and characterisation of target compounds
• Contributions to medicinal chemistry design
• Regular liaison with the Principal Investigators to organise workload and the provision of support for the satisfactory operation of research activities, facilities and equipment
• Training and mentoring of students on specific experimental techniques and in the use of specialised laboratory equipment
• Communication of results both orally, informal presentation and written documents
• Excellent laboratory record keeping of all experimental procedures and outcomes, enabling interpretation by other team members
• Risk assessments and maintenance of safety laboratory records (e.g. COSHH and other regulations) in consultation with academic staff
• Be responsible for the care and cleanliness of laboratories
• Participate in and contribute to the development of a vibrant research culture within the School

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

(Essential)

• Expert experience in synthetic organic chemistry, synthetic methods, route design and characterisation
• Expertise in a wide range of analytical techniques including NMR and mass spectrometry
• Experience of managing safety aspects of work (e.g. COSHH)
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, with the ability to present to internal and external stakeholders  
• Excellent organisation and planning

(Desirable)

• Experience of medicinal chemistry
• A track record of successful, high quality, publications  
• Experience of laboratory supervision of students (PhD, MSc, BSc)
• Familiarity with chemical database software 

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Enthusiastic, with a strong work ethic
• Demonstrated commitment to ensuring our institutional strategy for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is embedded in all our research group activities, with a commitment to ensuring dignity and respect in the workplace to the highest standard

Qualifications

• A PhD awarded in organic or medicinal chemistry (required to be appointed at Research Associate level only) - applicants who are about to receive their PhD are also welcomed (to be appointed at Research Assistant level)
• An undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in chemistry

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28528