A PhD studentship is available on a collaborative project jointly supervised by Dr Tom Sheppard and Dr Mike Porter in collaboration with AstraZeneca. The project will investigate novel Pd-catalysed CH activation/direct functionalisation reactions on chiral heterocycles.A PhD position is available working with Dr Tom Sheppard and Dr Mike Porter exploring novel Palladium-catalysed reactions of chiral heterocycles via a combined experimental and computational approach. Chiral saturated heterocycles are important molecules for use in medicinal chemistry, but their synthesis is often challenging and precludes their use in many cases. In this project we will develop versatile new strategies to prepare functionalised chiral heterocycles suitable for use in drug discovery applications. The work will build upon previous research in the Sheppard group on novel transition-metal chemistry (Chem. Eur. J. 2014, 20, 13375 and Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 10747) and the Porter group’s expertise in computational chemistry (Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 21, 6107).
Qualifications
We are looking to recruit a highly motivated and ambitious chemist with an excellent background in synthetic organic chemistry and an interest in learning about computational chemistry. Experience of typical spectroscopic and analytical techniques such as NMR, HPLC, LC-MS, and IR is also desirable. Students must meet the EPSRC eligibility requirements.
Application Details Applicants should have (or expect to gain) at least a 2(i) MSci / MChem (or equivalent) degree in chemistry.
The project start date will be on, or before, 01/10/2015.
Closing date: Until filled
Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Sheppard (tom.sheppard@ucl.ac.uk) to discuss further details. Applications can be made via UCL’s
online application system
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply/apply-now/
Further information on the Sheppard group is available here.