Postdoctoral Research Associate - Chemical Biology & Therapeutics

Substrate aware reaction condition prediction

This project seeks to capitalize on our recent development of rapid tandem mass-spectrometry methods to scout chemical reaction outcomes (Nature 2024, JACS 2026, Nature Protocols 2026). The proposed data rich experimentation will connect chemical structures to optimal reaction conditions. A competitive candidate will have a background in synthetic organic chemistry, experience with either automated synthesis or high-throughput experimentation is desirable. The project will be executed in the Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and builds on strong investments into a world-class infrastructure in high-throughput chemical synthesis and analysis.

Please direct queries and application packets including a cover letter, current CV, and contact information for 3 referees to Dr. Daniel Blair (daniel.blair@stjude.org).

Papers/Links:

U Neelakantan, … D J Blair* Generalized Analysis of Electrophilic Small Molecules, ChemRxiv 2026 doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv.10001482/v1

M Hu*, D J Blair* High-throughput reaction screening using acoustic ejection mass spectrometry, Nature Protocols 2026 doi: 10.1038/s41596-025-01320-y

M Hu, … D J Blair* Direct-to-Biology Enabled Molecular Glue Discovery JACS 2026

doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-4d7nq

M Hu… D J Blair* Continuous Collective Analysis of Chemical Reactions Nature 2024

doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08211-4

https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/real-high-throughput-chemistry-through-mass-spec

Minimum Experience

PhD in Organic Chemistry

No Search Firms

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. Please do not call or email. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee or other representative at St. Jude via email, the internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place and approved by HR will result in no fee being paid in the event the candidate is hired by St. Jude.