Researcher in Pharmaceutical Materials Science

Researcher in Pharmaceutical Materials Science, ref no 960-10

The candidate will be located at LTU main campus in Luleå at the department of Health science.The department of health sciences has app.100 employees involved in teaching at undergraduate and graduate level and research.


The candidate will be a member of pharmaceutical material science research group consisting of 3-4 members (PhD students and masters students) at the division of medical sciences.The group actively collaborates with different research groups around Europe and Asia.
This is a full time position for 1 year (with possible extension for another year) supported by the Swedish Research Council (SRC).In this project, we also collaborate with Umeå University.

Subject Description

Pharmaceutical solids can be classified into crystalline and amorphous.Crystalline solids include polymorphs, solvates/hydrates and salts.Pharmaceutical cocrystals (PC), which are prone to design, are recent addition to this class and offer significant diversity to the solid state crystal forms of APIs.Various crystal forms, for having differences in molecular arrangements and/or conformation in a crystal lattice, show significant differences in physicochemical properties such as solubility, dissolution rate, mechanical behaviour etc.We look at cocrystals as means of improving physical properties and our research spans from the screening to bio-availability studies.

In this project, we intend to study- 1) Pharmaceutical cocrystals-screening to pharmaceutical characterization, 2) Polymorphism in APIs/Salts/Cocrystals, 3) Phase transformations in solids

Duties and work

As a research scientist in pharmaceutical material science you will-

1) Design, plan and execute projects in the specified area and publish scientific results

2) Actively write grant applications

3) Build national and international network

Qualification and skill requirements

.PhD degree in pharmaceutics or crystal engineering or materials science or related areas.You must have published research articles in International Journals.Few years of posdoc experience is an added advantage
.Hand-on experience in the single crystal X-ray data collection and crystal structure solution.
.Knowledge or experience in organic crystal engineering/cocrystals
.Good theoretical background in the material science of organic solids (polymorphs, hydrates/solvates, amorphous materials and cocrystals)
.Hands on experience in the crystallization or scale-up of organic materials
.Experience with the handling of solid state characterisation techniques like DSC/TGA, FT-IR, Raman, XRPD etc and interpretation of results
.Excellent communication and written skills in English
Collaborative attitude, ability to work independently, multi-tasking, project management, flexibility and positive personality are desirable qualifies for a suitable candidate.

Assessment grounds

The following assessment grounds are applicable:

.Academic qualifications
.Expertise in the area
Contact Dr.
Application

Send application documents marked with reference number 960-10 to Luleå University of Technology, Registrar, SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden.

Application deadline: 21 May 2010

Reference number: 960-10