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Gerard J.P. van Westen
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PhD Position (Doctoral Candidate 10) in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network ANA-KIN Leiden University in Netherlands
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Computer Science
Funding
Fully funded 48-month Doctoral Candidate position within the MSCA Doctoral Network ANA-KIN; salary €3,204 to €4,051 gross per month, plus holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus.
Deadline
Nov 12, 2026
Country
Netherlands
University
Leiden University
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Keywords
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About this position
The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) at Leiden University is offering a PhD position within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network ANA-KIN. The project sits at the interface of AI, cheminformatics, and kinase drug discovery, with a focus on moving beyond traditional ATP-site targeting in order to support the discovery of more selective and resistance-aware kinase ligands.
As Doctoral Candidate 10, you will work on deep-learning methods that combine text-mined information, cheminformatic descriptors, and biophysical data to predict interface binding, allosteric signatures, and resistance liabilities. A key objective is to develop models that learn across peptide and small-molecule modalities and to translate those outputs into decision-support tools for consortium-wide hit triage and analogue selection. The project also aims to produce hybrid peptidomimetic design hypotheses and validated AI workflows for non-ATP interface ligands.
The position is embedded in a large international network spanning academic and industrial partners across Europe and the USA. You will work within the Computational Drug Discovery research environment headed by Gerard van Westen, which focuses on computational methods for drug discovery, including kinase and GPCR research, selectivity and polypharmacology modeling, allosteric modulation, and drug resistance modeling.
The role includes close collaboration with experimental and computational researchers in ANA-KIN, including reciprocal work with a partner doctoral candidate on structure-based and machine-learning pipelines. You will also complete two secondments abroad: one at VIB to extract structural classes and conformational features from cryo-EM data, and one at Skylight Therapeutics to test model predictions using SHG-based conformational profiling. The project emphasizes open science, FAIR data practices, prospective validation, and interdisciplinary training across scientific and transferable skills.
The wider research setting is the Faculty of Science, located in the Bio Science Park in Leiden, where research spans artificial intelligence, chemistry, bio-pharmaceutical sciences, biology, and environmental sciences. The position is part of a networked doctoral training environment with supervision across institutions and sectors.
Funding details
Fully funded 48-month Doctoral Candidate position within the MSCA Doctoral Network ANA-KIN; salary €3,204 to €4,051 gross per month, plus holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus.
What's required
Applicants must hold an MSc degree in Computer Science, AI, (Computational) Chemistry, Bioinformatics, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field. They should have good knowledge of machine learning and deep-learning techniques, experience with cheminformatics and/or computational chemistry, strong programming skills preferably in Python, good academic writing skills, and excellent proficiency in English (oral and written). Interest in structural biology, protein kinases and drug discovery is expected; affinity with peptide or biophysical data is an advantage. Candidates must be highly motivated, independent, communicative team players, willing to travel and undertake research secondments abroad. MSCA eligibility applies: candidates must not already hold a doctoral degree and must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months before recruitment.
How to apply
Apply online via the AcademicTransfer application link. Upload an application letter stating that you meet the MSCA eligibility criteria, a CV, a list of grades, and two references who have agreed to be contacted. Quote vacancy number 16967 and “ANA-KIN DC10” in your application.
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Professors
Prof. at Leiden University
Netherlands
Research Interests
Pharmacy
Chemistry
Deep Learning
Computational Chemistry
Chemoinformatics
Prof. at Leiden University
Netherlands
Research Interests
Pharmacy
Computer Science
Ml
Bioinformatic
Computational Chemistry
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.