Find & Apply For Biochemist / Biophysicist Jobs in Huntington, West Virginia

Job Summary:

The Xu Lab in the Department of Biomedical Sciences is seeking a motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Fellow to join our team. The candidate will lead a research project focusing on molecular microbiology of infectious diseases. One focus of this role involves inhibitor design and validating these targets. The ideal candidate will possess extensive hands-on experience in microbial construct design, genetic transformation, recombinant protein expression, and targeting those proteins with biochemical inhibitors.

Key Responsibilities:

Inhibitor Design:

Apply computational tools (docking, molecular dynamics) or experimental methods to design and screen small-molecule, peptide, or fragment-based inhibitors against target proteins.

Assay Development:

Establish biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays to measure inhibitor binding affinity and functional enzyme inhibition.

Construct Cloning:

Design and construct expression plasmids, genetic vectors, and CRISPR-based tools for bacterial/host systems.

Strain Engineering:

Engineer microbial strains and mammalian cells.

Protein Expression:

Purify target proteins using chromatographic methods.

Characterization:

Perform biochemical characterization, Western blotting, ELISA, and functional assays to validate protein activity. Location MUSOM - Marshall University School of Medicine Salary Range Salary is commensurate with experience and internal equity Required Qualifications Education Ph.D. in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a closely related field. Experience Demonstrated experience in inhibitor design, structural biology, or biochemical assay development for target evaluation. Proven expertise in molecular cloning techniques (Gibson assembly, restriction-based, PCR). Hands-on experience with bacterial transformation and genetic manipulation. Strong background in recombinant protein expression and purification.

Evidence of productivity:

At least one first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Experience using structural biology or computational chemistry software (e.g., PyMOL, Schrödinger, AutoDock, Rosetta). Experience with biophysical characterization techniques (e.g., SPR, ITC, MST). Knowledge of bioinformatics tools for gene/protein analysis. Preferred Qualifications Education Experience Posting Detail Information Posting Number MR0884 Open Date 07/23/2026 Close Date Open Until Filled Yes Special Instructions Summary Please include the following with your application: A cover letter detailing research experience and interest in the position. Curriculum Vitae (CV) with a publication list.