Research Scientist | Houston, TX

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Ph.D. in Medicinal/Peptide/Biochemistry or related areas with thesis and publication(s). Deep understanding of medicinal chemistry and in particular peptide and conjugation chemistry principles, and their application within an integrated drug discovery environment. Expertise in modern peptide chemistry especially SPPS and NCL. Familiarity with modern analytical techniques such as ESI, LC/MS, MALDI/TOF MS, fluorescence microscopy, fluorometry, NMR, CD, and UV/VIS spectrophotometry. Expertise with aqueous bioconjugation and non-aqueous conjugation chemistry. Knowledgeable in all aspects of drug discovery from target discovery through to early clinical development. Demonstrated expertise in hypothesis based medicinal and/or peptide chemistry. Demonstrated ability to work in a dynamic multidisciplinary environment and matrix organization. Experience in late stage optimization and preclinical evaluation of small molecule and peptide drugs, including a detailed knowledge of the roles of DMPK, drug safety, CMC, formulation etc. Able to define and influence small molecule and peptide drug pre‑clinical development strategy. Positive can‑do attitude with excellent communication and collaboration skills and ability to work with cross‑functional scientists. Ability to clearly and concisely convey ideas and opinions. Highly motivated and flexible with ability to work in fast‑paced environment. Ability to provide novel creative solutions to challenging problems. Desire to learn and tackle new challenges and initiatives. Professionally represents the organization in collaborations, partnership discussions, and external relationships and conferences. Proven track record of scientific contributions in life science as evidenced by quality and quantity of publications/presentations/inventions and/or products and clinical candidates. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. RESPONSIBILITIES Leads chemistry and peptide chemistry and/or cross‑functional teams (in house and with partners) in defining and implementing strategies for hit identification, hit‑to‑tool optimization, lead optimization and delivery of candidate molecules. Responsible for setting strategies, priorities and managing activities to deliver on objectives and milestones. Provides expert medicinal chemistry and peptide chemistry input in evaluation of external/partnership opportunities. Establishes customized in vitro and in vivo compound testing flow schemes to support programs at all stages. Effectively manages internal and external (CRO) chemists. Able to rapidly shift resources and re‑prioritize in response to data. Provides expert peptide and conjugation chemistry input in evaluation of external/partnership opportunities, including participating in diligence exercises. Demonstrates inter‑disciplinary knowledge of drug discovery (in vitro/in vivo pharmacology, ADME, PK/PD/E, translational research & toxicology) and is able to use this knowledge to influence project strategy. Supports early stage programs through a detailed knowledge of state‑of‑the‑art biophysical and biochemical methods and their application to druggability assessment and small molecule hit identification and characterization. Writing and submitting grant applications to secure external funding from different agencies and institutes. Prepares and organizes data for presentation. Presents written and oral reports to management. Publishes original research and review articles in scholarly journals. Prepare Patent applications as necessary. Contact Us Houston, TX University of Houston UH/ERP5 Innovation Center Labs 121, 121A Office #145 #J-18808-Ljbffr