Postdoctoral Scholarship in Medicinal Chemistry for DNA Repair Drug Discovery at Karolinska Institutet

Job Description

The Helleday Laboratory at Karolinska Institutet, which works on DNA repair and translational drug discovery, is offering a postdoctoral scholarship in medicinal chemistry. Working with the medicinal chemistry team leader, you will design and make small-molecule inhibitors of DNA repair enzymes, especially DNA glycosylases, for use in cancer, inflammation and fibrosis. Note that KI scholarships are only open to researchers coming from abroad.

At a glance

• Position: Postdoctoral scholarship, up to two years
• Where: Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), Solna
• Contact: Ann-Sofie Jemth, ann-sofie.jemth@ki.se
• Reference: STÖD 2-3576/2026
• Apply by: 23 September 2026
• Apply: 23 September 2026

About the medicinal chemistry scholarship

• Design, synthesise and optimise small-molecule inhibitors of DNA repair enzymes
• In silico design, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations
• Work with interdisciplinary teams testing compounds in biochemical and cellular assays
• Contribute to assay development, including metabolic stability assays
• Write papers, presentations and grant applications, and supervise undergraduate students

Who can hold a KI postdoc scholarship

KI’s scholarships are for foreign researchers: people living in another country who come to Sweden to do all or part of their postdoctoral training at KI. Anyone resident in Sweden, or who did any part of their academic education at KI or another Swedish institution, cannot be considered. Their stated aim is to promote internationalisation and research training after the doctorate.

What to include in your application

KI asks for documents in English or Swedish: a complete CV (with the date and title of your thesis, previous academic positions and distinctions), a complete list of publications, and a summary of your current work of no more than one page. Applications are submitted through KI’s Varbi recruitment system.

What Karolinska Institutet is looking for

• A PhD in medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry or a close field (applicants may apply before finishing if all degree requirements are met before the start date)
• At least four years of research experience in organic chemistry with a strong medicinal chemistry emphasis
• Demonstrated expertise in designing, making and optimising small-molecule inhibitors, including solving problems such as poor solubility or tautomeric instability in lead series
• Experience with metabolic stability assays and working knowledge of biochemical assays
• Significant experience mentoring and supervising junior researchers

Nice to have

• Structure-based drug design and computational chemistry tools
• Multi-step synthetic route design
• Prodrug development and covalent inhibitor design
• Scale-up, and knowledge of ADME and pharmacokinetic optimisation

Pay and location

This is a tax-free scholarship, not an employment. KI sets it for twelve months at a time and pays it every six months; the advert does not state the amount. KI scholarships can be held for at most two years within the four years after the doctorate.

How to apply

Apply through the official Karolinska Institutet page. The closing date is 23 September 2026.

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