Job Description
Appointment Type: Postdoctoral Fellow
Department: IUSM - Medicine - Clinical Pharmacology
Campus: IU School of Medicine Indianapolis
Position Summary The Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), Indianapolis, Indiana is seeking a highly motivated, passionate, and proactive chemist to perform early drug discovery research within a dynamic and innovative academic setting. The successful candidate will join a dynamic, interdisciplinary team of scientists focused on early-stage drug discovery research and will work in collaboration with scientists at Indiana University's Indianapolis campus and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.Given the academic, biotech-like nature of our goals, the cultural fit of a successful candidate is an important criterion for success. Desired characteristics include a "can do" attitude, a high level of curiosity, and the ability to work collaboratively with others.The primary responsibilities of this postdoctoral fellow will be designing and synthesizing analogs and evaluating structure-activity relationships (SAR) to optimize the potency, physicochemical and ADME properties, pharmacokinetics, safety, and in vivo efficacy of lead molecules. In collaboration with other scientists, you will be performing and evaluating high-throughput virtual screens to discover novel small-molecule ligands. Results will be published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals.
The Division of Clinical Pharmacology conducts groundbreaking translational research in the area of cardio-immunology, drug discovery and development, drug interactions, and genomic variants that impact therapeutic effectiveness. The multi-disciplinary research includes collaborations through the Indiana University School of Medicine and the broader IU community. More information about our growing division can be found here .
IUSM is committed to being a welcoming campus community and we seek candidates whose research, teaching, and community engagement efforts contribute to robust learning and working environments for all students, staff, and faculty. We invite individuals who will join us in our mission to improve health equity and well-being for all throughout the state of Indiana.
Indianapolis is the capital and most populous city in the State of Indiana. It is growing economically thanks to a strong corporate base anchored by the life sciences. Indiana is home to one of the largest concentrations of health sciences companies in the nation. Indianapolis has a sophisticated blend of charm and culture with a wonderful balance of business and leisure. The growing residential base is supported by rich amenities and quality of life-the city possesses a variety of professional sports, arts venues, and outdoor recreation areas. Residents of this dynamic city and surrounding suburbs enjoy leading educational systems and top-ranked universities, paired with a diverse population. Indianapolis International Airport is a top-ranked international airport, being named "Best Airport in North America" by Airports Council International for many years.
Basic Qualifications Doctorate or terminal degree required. Prefer an individual with a PhD degree in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, or a closely related field.
Department Contact for Questions Cheryl Weatherholt at weatherc@iu.edu
Additional Qualifications Preferred Qualifications include:
- Knowledge of general chemistry, organic synthesis, and related laboratory techniques.
- Expertise in synthetic methodologies, retrosynthetic analysis, purification, and verification of chemical structure.
- Experience with analytical techniques and methodologies (e.g., HPLC, LC/MS, NMR, mass spec, etc.).
- Basic skills in communication, word processing, database searching, data entry, and data analysis (e.g., ChemDraw, Reaxys, SciFinder, Microsoft Office 365 including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
Expected Start Date: 11/01/2026
Posting Number IUSM-02410-2026
Job Tags
Work at office