The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Design at Københavns Universitet is seeking to appoint two new group leaders in de novo protein design. These tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor positions will be open from February 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter. The roles will be associated with either the Department of Biology within the Faculty of Science or the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Design (CPD) is a new initiative that spans the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at Københavns Universitet. The aim of the centre is to accelerate protein design by gaining a deeper understanding of sequence-to-structure/function relationships in proteins. It also aims to develop methods to programme these into functional, designed proteins.
Københavns Universitet, BRIC's research at the CPD is broad and not prescriptive, covering both fundamental and applied de novo protein design. Københavns Universitet, BRIC's three themes are:
- Programmable De Novo Protein Design, aimed at improving methods for protein design by combining rational, physics-based, and AI-based approaches.
- Contextualised Protein Design, that is, designing proteins that are fit for purpose, such as working directly and optimally in cells, chemical reactors, etc.
- Biodesign for Sustainability and Healthcare, for instance, working with biotech and industry to deliver synthetic proteins to address real-world challenges and needs.
The centre will train the next generation of protein scientists for careers in protein design and engineering. It will apply protein design methods to a diverse array of fundamental and real-world challenges. The CPD is funded by a 700 million DKK (94 million EUR) grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, initially for seven years from August 2025. It is housed in a completely new, purpose-built space with excellent facilities for computational and experimental protein design. For further information on the CPD, see Københavns Universitet, BRIC's web page.
