PhD Student in Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry

The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry conducts research and teaching in the field of drug development.

More information about the department and its teaching can be found at www.ilk.uu.se (http://www.ilk.uu.se). The department has approximately 85 employees.

The advertised PhD position is linked to the Graduate School in Regulatory Science, a new initiative at the Faculty of Pharmacy. Regulatory science can be defined as the science of developing and applying new tools, standards, and methods to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of products regulated by governmental or international authorities. The Graduate School aims to establish and then strengthen the faculty's role as a leading competence center by educating PhDs with integrated research and regulatory expertise in strategic collaborations with authorities, industry, and international research environments. The long-term goal is to contribute to ensuring that the population has access to safe and effective medicines.

Within the research group of analytical pharmaceutical chemistry, the research projects are broadly focused on chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, as well as mass spectrometry. We work in several different application areas within product and bioanalysis of drugs, metabolomics, lipidomics, and environmental analysis.

Project Description

The current PhD project will focus on the development of new analytical methods for quality control of primarily therapeutic oligonucleotides. These substances are large, synthetic molecules that occupy a regulatory gray area between classical small drugs and large biomolecules. The analytical methods will be developed according to the principles of Analytical Quality-by-Design (AQbD), which means a systematic and risk-based approach where the purpose and lifecycle of the method are defined from the outset. The work will integrate risk management and design space concepts to ensure robust and scientifically sound methods in line with current and emerging regulatory expectations. Both anti-sense oligonucleotides and siRNA will be studied using advanced separation techniques such as capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography. The long-term goal is to contribute to an improvement of the regulatory principles for quality control of new types of drugs and thereby strengthen society's access to safe and effective medicines.

Job Responsibilities

The main employment as a PhD student is self-education at the doctoral level. Departmental duties (20%) are included in the position, which mainly involves laboratory teaching and seminar supervision in Swedish, as well as a smaller portion of administrative work. During the later part of the education, lectures for undergraduate students may also be included. We expect you to value good pedagogy both in your own and others' teaching. A pedagogical course for university teachers will be included in your doctoral education.

Qualification Requirements

Eligible is someone who has:

• completed a master's degree in pharmacy/natural sciences/engineering or equivalent with good knowledge in analytical chemistry
• completed at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at the advanced level including an independent project of at least 15 higher education credits, or
• acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way.

You must also have completed a master's thesis at the advanced level comprising at least 30 credits in analytical pharmaceutical chemistry/analytical chemistry or a subject area that the supervisor assesses as equivalent. You must be able to teach in Swedish.

You are responsible, meticulous, and have the ability to work independently as well as in a group. To thrive as a PhD student, we also believe that you need to enjoy searching for new solutions to the research problems you will face. Since research projects can sometimes progress quite slowly, you should also be persistent and equipped with patience. We will place great emphasis on personal qualities during the selection process.

Desirable/Meritorious

It is meritorious if your education at the undergraduate and/or advanced level includes components on drug development. It is also meritorious if you have experience with electrophoretic or chromatographic separations of nucleic acids, as well as experience working with regulatory issues.

Regulations for PhD students can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5 §§ 1-7 as well as in the university's rules and guidelines.

Application

The application should include a CV, copies of degree certificates and transcripts, a copy of the master's thesis (or a draft of it), any scientific articles, and contact information for two personal references.

Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria: fulfillment of eligibility requirements, fulfillment of the qualities described in the advertisement, previous experience of work and/or research in this or related fields, sufficient knowledge of Swedish and English, and personal suitability. Selection of candidates will be made by the supervisors in consultation with the department's graduate education group. The faculty's graduate education committee will admit the PhD student.

About the Employment

The employment is temporary, according to HF Chapter 5 § 7. The extent is full-time. Start date as soon as possible or by agreement. Place of employment: Uppsala

For inquiries about the position, please contact: Professor Mikael Hedeland, email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

In this recruitment, we have replaced the personal letter with questions that you will answer in connection with your application. The answers will be used as part of the selection process.

Welcome with your application by March 15, 2026, UFV-PA 2026/484. Uppsala University is a broad research university with a strong international standing. The ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a difference in society. Our most important asset is all 7,600 employees and 53,000 students who, with curiosity and commitment, make Uppsala University one of the country's most exciting workplaces.

Read more about our benefits and what it's like to work at Uppsala University here (https://uu.se/om-uu/jobba-hos-oss/).

The employment may be subject to security clearance. In the case of security clearance, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved.

We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising assistance.

Applications are received in Uppsala University's recruitment system.

Union representatives: Saco-S - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]), Seko - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]), ST (OFR/S) - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])