Postdoctoral Researcher - Contraceptive Drug Discovery

UHN, Canada’s #1 hospital, offers a Postdoctoral Researcher position in Contraceptive Drug Discovery under Mitacs Accelerate Umbrella – Target 2035 Fellows. The project discovers and validates under-explored protein targets for next-generation non-hormonal contraception. Postdocs advance sperm-specific proteins through the drug discovery pipeline from hit to chemical probe.

Perform protein expression and purification, biochemical and biophysical characterization. Determine high-resolution structures using X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM to reveal target mechanism and function. Assess target ligandability and develop screening strategies including high-throughput approaches like E-ASMS and DEL-ML.

Embedded in an early-stage drug discovery team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Work closely with medicinal chemists, machine learning scientists, automation and software engineers, biochemists, and cell biologists. Collaborate with academic, industry, and technology partners in a multidisciplinary project team.

Drive hit validation, structure–activity relationship development, and early compound optimization using structural and functional insights. Contribute to cutting-edge, data-driven efforts in an international research program. Gain hands-on experience across the pipeline from target to therapeutic starting points.