Assistant Scientist - Pharmacological Sciences

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC is seeking to hire a medicinal chemistry associate scientist for novel small molecule drug discovery projects in interesting therapeutic areas of unmet medical need including diabetes, orphan disease, neuroscience, IBD and oncology.

The role will require the structure-based drug design and synthesis of novel medicinal compounds for testing in in vitro and in vivo assays that support the basic biology and drug discovery research efforts. 

Preparation, purification and characterization of compounds in chemistry laboratory; documentation of all experiments in electronic lab notebooks (ELN) including written, publication quality, experimental procedures.  Operation and maintenance of laboratory instruments - HPLC and LC-MS for example. Safe laboratory habits and experimental practices.

Docking and structure-based drug design based on known ligands and X-ray crystallography co-crystal data available from collaborator labs. 

Limited Term 1 yr initial appointment with opportunity for renewal.

Opportunities for professional development

The position will allow the candidate to develop valuable new skills and experience in early drug discovery and chemical biology in a highly collaborative research environment. 

These include:

• Collaborate to validate novel biological targets
• Chemical biology tool synthesis and development
• Structure-based drug design; Schrodinger software suite
• High throughput screening hit validation and analysis 
• Hit and Lead identification
• Lead optimization medicinal chemistry and pre-clinical candidate selection
• Analysis of in vitro and in vivo activity of compounds (pharmacodynamics)
• Chemo and bioinformatics database development and data analysis
• Optimize physical-chemical properties of drug molecules 
• Study Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) properties
• Evaluate drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) in preclinical species
• External collaboration and public presentation skills

• Two years experience
• Ph.D. in Biological Science or related field
• Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Capabilities :
  • Organic chemistry knowledge with specific experience in total synthesis,  heterocyclic and organometallic chemistry; demonstrated experience in the synthesis, purification, and analysis of complex organic molecules; experience with new method development, rapid analog and library synthesis techniques; multi-step synthetic processes and larger, multi-gram reaction scale-up.  
  • Microwave assisted synthesis.  
  • Experience with the safe handling of reactive and air-sensitive materials. 
  • Characterization of new molecules by NMR and MS.
  • Competence with Schrodinger suite of software for structure-based drug design and ligand docking is required. 
  • Excellent reaction trouble shooting skills.  Excellent English written and oral communication skills. Ability to keep and up to date laboratory notebook and write document experimental procedures for manuscript preparation, patent applications and journal submissions.

 

Strength Through Diversity

The Mount Sinai Health System believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key drivers for excellence. We share a common devotion to delivering exceptional patient care. When you join us, you become a part of Mount Sinai’s unrivaled record of achievement, education, and advancement as we revolutionize medicine together. We invite you to participate actively as a part of the Mount Sinai Health System team by:  

• Using a lens of equity in all aspects of patient care delivery, education, and research to promote policies and practices to allow opportunities for all to thrive and reach their potential.
• Serving as a role model confronting racist, sexist, or other inappropriate actions by speaking up, challenging exclusionary organizational practices, and standing side-by-side in support of colleagues who experience discrimination.
• Inspiring and fostering an environment of anti-racist behaviors among and between departments and co-workers.

At Mount Sinai, our leaders strive to learn, empower others, and embrace change to further advance equity and improve the well-being of staff, patients, and the organization.  We expect our leaders to embrace anti-racism, create a collaborative and respectful environment, and constructively disrupt the status quo to improve the system and enhance care for our patients. We work hard to create an inclusive, welcoming and nurturing work environment where all feel they are valued, belong and are able to advance professionally.

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