Post-Doctoral Research Associate: Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology - UTK

The Center for Molecular Biophysics, within the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, is seeking (3) post-doctoral research associates for projects related to molecular modeling, AI and simulation of  macromolecular structure, dynamics and function.  This is a grant-funded, one-year position. 

These positions will assist Prof. Jeremy Smith as well as other research faculty and research scientists in performing research predicting protein function from multi-modal inputs, including protein structure, dynamics simulations and ligand binding. The positions may make use of high performance computing and/or cloud computing platforms for their work. The positions will be part of a working team and will coordinate their efforts closely with faculty and research scientist mentors as well as outside collaborators. 

The postdoctoral fellows will be responsible for the development of various research topics including AI-enabled protein function prediction, MD simulation and ligand binding. Workflow development may also be involved. Research on drug and vaccine design will also be undertaken. Researchers will assist in performing molecular modeling, engage in software development, and coordinate with others to develop AI models.  The researchers will also develop scientific manuscripts associated with their work and present their results where appropriate.

Minimum Required Education and Experience: 

• PhD required
• Experience in atomistic computer simulations and/or AI and computer programming.

Minimum Required Skills and Abilities: 

• Excellent working knowledge of chemistry, physics or computer science.
• Analytical skills necessary to collect information from diverse sources, perform analyses, summarize, and present the information to communicate data, trends, and solve problems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to multitask

• Molecular modeling and simulation of biological macromolecular systems

• Practical experience developing AI models

• Simulating algorithms to understand fundamental behavior

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience deploying scientific software on high-performance computing and/or cloud-computing environments

• Protein structure prediction 

• Ensemble docking 

• Computational workflow development 

• Experience with generative machine learning

Work Location: UT site at ORNL in Oak Ridge, TN

Compensation and Benefits 

• Anticipated hiring range: TBD based on experience.
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

For best consideration applicants should submit the following materials: 

• Cover Letter

• CV

• Contact information for three (3) professional references 

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled

About The Department: 

The University of Tennessee Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) is home to over 400 undergraduate majors. Housed in the Ken and Blaire Mossman (1311 Cumberland Ave.) and Hesler Biology and Greenhouse (1406 Circle Dr.) Buildings, our research teams of faculty, undergrads, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are working on topics ranging from molecular structure to organismal levels.