TropIQ Health Sciences is looking for a talented postdoctoral fellow to join our dynamic group of scientists focused on the discovery of new interventions for mosquito-borne infectious diseases. The fellow will support TropIQ’s malaria research programmes, and lead a target-based drug discovery approach. Within the framework of this project, the fellow will develop biochemical methods for purification of native parasite proteins, and use CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genetic engineering technologies for target validation and generation of tagged proteins for affinity purification. The fellowship has an initial duration of 2 years.

Tasks and responsibilities

The project aims at establishing target-based assays for identification of novel small molecules that interrupt malaria parasite replication and transmission. The fellow will design molecular and biochemical strategies to isolate native proteins from bulk cultures of Plasmodium falciparum parasites. In addition, the fellow will design activity assays to test the effect of small molecules to support hit and lead optimization campaigns. CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genetic engineering will be used to study the role of potential drug targets in parasite replication and transmission. The fellow will be responsible for design and execution of the experimental work and reporting of project progress both internally as well as to the project partners. The fellow is expected to disseminate the project results in high impact scientific journals.

Required qualifications and experience

Minimum qualifications:

• PhD in life sciences and strong skills and experience in molecular biology and biochemistry
• Excellent communication skills in English
• Evidence of collaborative research
• Creative, flexible and entrepreneurial personality

Additional preferred qualifications

• Affinity with drug discovery/molecular pharmacology
• Prior experience in malaria parasitolog

What we offer:

The position provides a challenging opportunity to become active in the battle against tropical infectious diseases as part of an enthusiastic team of scientists. The versatile nature of the project and the multidisciplinary setup of the project provide an excellent basis for widening research skill sets and broadening the scientific horizon. We offer a contract for 2 years at a competitive salary.

TropIQ

TropIQ aims at creating better opportunities for people by improving their health. To this end it provides enabling technology for the elimination of infectious diseases. The company performs fee-for-service research for third parties and runs a proprietary drug discovery program. TropIQ is located at the Noviotech high-tech campus in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and was founded in 2011 as a spin-off of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center.