About VCU At VCU, we are UNCOMMON and UNLIKE any other university. A premier, urban, public research university nationally recognized as one of the best employers for diversity and classified by Carnegie as R1 and Community Engaged. VCU is a great place to work. It's a place of opportunity, where your success is supported and your career can thrive. About School of Pharmacy The School of Pharmacy has a 125-year tradition beginning with the Medical College of Virginia and continuing to the present. Ranked in the top 20 of Schools of Pharmacy nationwide, the school is dedicated to graduating outstanding future pharmacists and scientists who will improve human health, foster exemplary research, and provide sustaining contributions to inter professional patient care. The University recognized the School of Pharmacy as the highest-ranking academic unit for Inclusive Excellence. Some postdoctoral scholars are eligible for a generous benefits package that includes choices for health, vision, and dental coverage, life-insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, retirement planning, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, flexible spending accounts, tuition benefits, significant paid-time off and more. Postdoctoral scholars should clarify with their mentor if their appointment is as a postdoctoral scholar-trainee on a training grant, or a postdoctoral scholar-fellow who is an employee on a research grant. Please note: Benefits associated with postdoctoral appointments terminate when the appointment ends. Explore our benefits further here: https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/benefits/postdoctoral-employee-benefits/ About the Role The Department of Medicinal Chemistry is seeking one postdoctoral fellow to work in the laboratory of Professor Yan Zhang, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Zhang's lab is conducting highly interdisciplinary research focused on pre-clinical development of novel drug candidates, where we apply chemical synthesis, medicinal chemistry, biochemical and biophysical assays, and computational chemistry interactively. We are seeking a highly motivated synthetic organic chemist, medicinal chemist, or computational chemist to join our drug design, discovery, and development program. Key responsibilities A successful candidate will be involved in design, synthesis, and characterization of small molecules targeting various disease treatments development. They will also be part of our team to be involved in in vitro and in vivo biological screening efforts. This position will include responsibility for lab safety management and routine maintenance. They will also be responsible for training junior chemists, including undergraduates and graduate students. The candidate is expected to participate in grant writing and manuscript preparation as well. Required Qualifications * PhD degree in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, or related areas. * Design, synthesis, and biological characterization of novel lead compounds to develop drug candidates in treating various types of diseases, including substance use disorders, cancer, AIDS, and other neurological disorders. * Extensive experience in designing synthetic routes for novel compounds, solving challenging synthetic problems, and SAR analysis required. * Be able to apply NMR, IR, HPLC, and MS methods to solve organic chemistry inquiries. * Ample experience in computational chemistry, molecular modeling, and structure-based molecular design. * Excellent English oral and written communication skills. * Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as an employee at VCU Preferred Qualifications * Excellent track of record of publication in the related research areas * Grant application experience Salary Range: $51,000 Position Details: Department: 1641 Medicinal Chemistry Employment Type: PD - Post Doc Restricted Status: No FTE: 100 Exemption Status: Exempt Contact Information: Contact Name: Yan Zhang Contact Email: yzhang2@vcu.edu Contact Phone: