Company Description

UHN is Canada’s #1 hospital and the world’s #1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.

UHN’s vision is to build A Healthier World and it’s only because of the talented and dedicated people who work here that we are continually bringing that vision closer to reality.

www.uhn.ca

Job Description

Union: Non-Union
Number of Vacancies: 1
New or Replacement Position: New
Department: Research
Reports to: Senior Scientist
Salary Range: $54,902 - $93,333 Annually
Hours: 37.5 Hours Per Week
Shifts: Monday - Friday
Status: Temporary Full-time
Closing Date: May 18, 2026

Position Summary:
We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a strong background in quantitative cell and cancer biology to characterize small-molecule chemical probes targeting novel cancer-related proteins. We focus on regulators of posttranslational modifications, such as protein methylation and ubiquitylation, which play key roles in cancer cell survival. The successful candidate will apply cutting-edge cellular screening methods, pathway analysis, cell model development, and direct-to-biology assays for compound evaluation, integrated with machine learning models to guide compound discovery. Through evaluation of pharmacological pathway modulation in cancer, the Fellow will accelerate the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and chemical probes to understand human health and disease and seed drug discovery.

In this unparalleled training opportunity, the Fellow will be supported by a dynamic project team working in close collaboration with experienced biochemists, structural biologists, medicinal chemists, machine learning scientists, and cell biologists from the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and Industry and technology partners.

The Target 2035 Fellow will be supervised by Dr. Barsyte-Lovejoy, Principal Investigator at SGC, Associate Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department at the University of Toronto, and an affiliate scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and will be co-supervised with an industry partner of SGC. This position is part of the Target 2035 Fellows program, supported through a Mitacs Accelerate Umbrella program coordinated by SGC. The fellowship is offered as a temporary full-time postdoctoral appointment for an initial one-year term, with the possibility of renewal for up to two additional years, subject to performance, funding availability, and program requirements.

The Fellow will be embedded within SGC’s research environment at the University Health Network and will contribute to collaborative research aligned with Target 2035, a global open science initiative focused on accelerating early drug discovery through the generation of high-quality chemical tools and protein–ligand interaction data. Training is provided through academic supervision, day-to-day integration within SGC research teams, and participation in collaborative projects involving academic, technology, and industry partners. All research outputs generated under the program adhere to SGC’s open science principles.

Duties:

• As a Target 2035 Fellow, you will work on the discovery of small molecules and their modulated pathways for cancer targeting, establishing target binding/degradation, and advancing the development of high-quality chemical probes for novel protein targets.
• Application and development of cellular target engagement methodology to evaluate target protein binding by small molecules, off-target activity, and protein degrader screening
• Design of novel assays to evaluate the degradation of target proteins in cells
• Design of target-specific screening and cancer cell survival assays.
• Establishment and screening of cell models for lung, brain, breast, and pancreatic cancer
• Harness protein degradation using high-throughput degrader screening and characterization
• Using multiomics platforms to investigate pathways underlying the phenotype of drug response
• Collaboration with SGC teams and industry partners to advance hits from screening into validated chemical probes

Qualifications

• Awarded a PhD within the previous 5 years, or an MD or DDS within the previous 10 years in cell biology and biochemistry
• Strong hands-on experience with quantitative cell assays, genetic manipulation, transcriptomics, and proteomics analysis, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications
• Excellent communication skills and motivation for collaborative, interdisciplinary research
• Familiarity with cellular target engagement, drug discovery, and chemical biology
• Experience with assay methodology, data analysis, or scripting (e.g., image analysis, flow cytometry, luminescence and fluorescence-based methods, protein analysis)
• Interest in AI-enabled or data-driven chemical and cell biology

Additional Information

Why join UHN?

In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.

• Competitive offer packages
• Government organization and a member of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP https://hoopp.com/)
• Close access to Transit and UHN shuttle service
• A flexible work environment
• Opportunities for development and promotions within a large organization
• Additional perks (multiple corporate discounts including: travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance discounts, on-site gyms, etc.)

Current UHN employees must have successfully completed their probationary period, have a good employee record along with satisfactory attendance in accordance with UHN's attendance management program, to be eligible for consideration.

All applications must be submitted before the posting close date.

UHN uses email to communicate with selected candidates. Please ensure you check your email regularly.

Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.

UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.