Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Organic Chemistry at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct innovative research in the synthesis and characterization of non-canonical amino acids bearing donor, acceptor, fluorescent, redox-active, or metal-ligating substituents, and their application in peptide chemistry, biomedical research, and functional soft materials. The work will be conducted in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Brussels, Belgium, with possible research exchange visits depending on project needs and available funding.
• Have or develop expertise in several of the following areas:
• synthetic organic chemistry and multistep synthesis, preferably including amino acid, peptide, and supramolecular chemistry;
• structural characterization using NMR, MS, and other relevant analytical techniques;
• basic analytical and physicochemical studies of functional molecules and peptide-based materials;
• basic computational chemistry skills would be advantageous;
• independent scientific writing, manuscript preparation, presentation of research results, and contribution to grant applications.
• Author/co-author at least three (3) publication outputs per year in the form of DHET– accredited scholarly journal articles or books/chapters in books. The renewal of the fellowship beyond the first year depends on satisfactory performance and the submission of an annual progress report.
• Initiate projects and seek funding. 
• Register and reside as postdoctoral research fellow at the UFS in Bloemfontein and participate in relevant activities of the Centre for Graduate Support and the Directorate of Research Development. 

Eligibility requirements:

• Open to all South African and foreign nationals for full-time research at the University of the Free State. 
• Applicants must have achieved a PhD degree in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, or a cognate discipline within the past five years.
• Successful applicants may not hold full-time salaried employment during the fellowship.
• Successful applicants must be able to relocate to the UFS for the duration of the fellowship. This is a residential fellowship: the successful applicant is required to spend 80% of their postdoctoral period at the UFS.