A postdoctoral position is available in the group of Ethan Merritt to work on the structure-based design and development of drugs targeting disease caused by eukaryotic parasites. This project combines crystal structure determination done in the Merritt Lab with synthetic chemistry and biological assays against the target parasites carried out by collaborating UW groups. The current focus of the project is to further develop a set of lead compounds that we have determined to have nanomolar activity against Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium. Our goal is to modify these lead compounds to optimize their efficacy against the target parasites while maintaining their non-toxicity in humans. We hope over the next several years to bring these compounds to the point of initial clinical trials. Crystallographic work will include structure determination of homologous proteins from related parasites, which may allow us to expand the project to target additional diseases. Two recent papers from this project provide additional information: Ojo et al., Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 17:602 (2010) Murphy et al., ACS Med. Chem. Letters 1:331 (2010)
The Merritt Lab is part of the Biomolecular Structure Center (BMSC) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The BMSC provides a collaborative environment that brings together crystallographers, computational chemists, and synthetic chemists. We also collaborate closely with UW groups in the departments of Chemistry, Global Health, and Tropical Medicine. Email inquiries and applications to <merr...@u.washington.edu>. Please enclose a CV, a summary of research interests and previous crystallographic experience, and contact information for three people who might provide a reference letter or recommendation. -- Ethan A Merritt Department of Biochemistry Biomolecular Structure Center, Mailstop 357742 University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA
