Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Pharmaceutical Formulation Development

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.

At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. UQ has made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the world-leading research team at our School of Pharmacy to undertake research and development into the formulation, optimisation and evaluation of a range of liquid and semi-solid dosage forms for nasal delivery. This will include the design and delivery of rigorous formulation optimisation and stability evaluation studies, working towards GMP standards.

This role, within a NHMRC-funded program, will involve developing novel drug-infused solution/semi-solid formulations with appropriate pharmaceutical properties for application in drug retention and drug release studies as determined via HPLC/LC-MS analysis. The lead formulations will then be assessed in a simulated 3D nasal inhalation model, and via extensive in vivo studies (preclinical & clinical) conducted by collaborators at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, The Park Centre for Mental Health Treatment Research & Education, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Demonstrate initiative and drive for the NHMRC-funded program, through regular dialogue with, and oversight from the Chief Investigator/Senior Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy.

• Design and execute well-planned, documented research experiments (working towards GMP standards) relevant to the project aims, objectives and desired outcomes.

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the research project, including method development and laboratory book recording (working towards GLP standards), data collection and critical analysis of data.

• Develop and optimise solution/semi-solid formulations infused with agents of interest, ensuring optimal performance by way of stability and rheology.

• Prepare progress reports as requested for internal review, and present findings with critical insights at regular ‘in-house’ meetings.

• Produce quality research outputs consistent with pharmaceutical science norms by publishing or exhibiting in high quality outlets.

• Participate in applications for competitive research funding to support projects and activities.

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Major/Honours and Higher Degree by Research students (as appropriate) ensuring where applicable, milestone reports for their projects are prepared and submitted in a timely manner. Provide guidance on milestone presentations for students under supervision.

• Contribute to internal service roles and administrative processes as required, including participation in decision-making and service on relevant committees.

• Begin to develop external links and partnerships by cultivating relationships with industry, government departments, professional bodies and the wider community.

This is a research focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance.

This is a part-time (80% FTE), fixed-term position for 12 months, with a possible 6-month extension dependent upon the operational needs of the project. This role is to commence ASAP (early-April 2024) at Academic level A.

The full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $77,324 – $102,945 plus super of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be in the range $90,470 – $120,445 per annum. As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases – at least once a year.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad: from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options and flexible start/finish times, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

• A PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Drug Delivery or related field.

• Recent research experience of working in a research laboratory on projects as a post-doctoral scientist to/towards GMP standards.

• Emerging experience in:

  • Formulation development and optimisation as it relates to liquid or semi-solid dosage forms, namely solutions/suspensions/creams/gels.

  • Assessing drug/formulation stability (real-time, accelerated) and drug release from liquid or semi-solid dosage forms working to or towards GMP standards.

  • Assessing and optimizing drug release and rheology of liquid or semi-solid dosage forms.

  • Preparing scaled-up test batch formulations, preferably under aseptic conditions and evaluating their rheological and physicochemical properties.

• Demonstrated experience in performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of therapeutic agents (and/or their metabolites) by HPLC/LC-MS techniques.

• Demonstrated experience in efficient planning and execution of experiments, including a demonstrated ability in adopting a methodical, systematic approach to experimental design and problem solving.

• Evidenced emerging ability in report writing, record keeping, and presentation of research results.

• An ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team, under minimal supervision, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to maintain and develop a positive working relationship within the research team.

• High level of organisational skills, including experience and demonstrated ability to manage confidential research records/data and adhere to specific work schedules to meet strict deadlines.

• Established computer skills, including working with spreadsheets, databases and word processing programs.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Dr Harendra Parekh, Senior Lecturer, at ********@uq.edu.au.

For application queries, and to request the position description of this role, please contact ******@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Resume

• Cover letter addressing the ‘About You’ section above

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion.  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity, LGBTQIA+, cultural and/or linguistic, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, or people with a disability. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to ******@uq.edu.au 

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Sunday 17 March 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number: R-36093).