Therapeutics innovation
Effective medicines are essential for the prevention, treatment and cure of disease, and there is an urgent need for the development of medicines that are both clinically effective and cost-efficient. Building on our strong legacy here in Liverpool of groundbreaking discoveries and translational research, we bring breadth and depth of expertise that allows us to shape and influence every stage of the drug development pipeline.
Our unique capabilities forge vital connections between industry, global charities, and academia, empowering us to lead bold, collaborative efforts against the world’s most pressing health challenges — from cancer and infectious diseases to women and children’s health, cardio-metabolic disorders, and neurological conditions.
Eligibility
Candidates will be expected to have a PhD in a discipline relating to their fellowship proposal, and at least three years of postdoctoral experience in an academic, research and development (R&D) or policy environment.
Candidates must apply against one of our defined frontier focus areas listed below and clearly articulate their vision in their outline research proposal. Please do not apply for more than one focus area.
N.B. Host departments listed in each frontier focus area are purely indicative to aid the internal handling of applications. Successful candidates will be placed in the most appropriate University department for their discipline.
Frontier focus areas
AI for combatting antimicrobial resistance
- Host institute: Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
- Host department: Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Fellowship in this research area will focus on the global health threat from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) using a multipronged approach that harnesses AI in the discovery and development of new drugs, optimised use of existing drugs, stewardship and infection prevention and control.
In particular, the AI research should address the call for action from the UN General Assembly to reduce human deaths from AMR by 10% by 2030.
AI for polypharmacy
- Host institute: Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
- Host department: Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Fellowship in this research area will focus on the growing problem of polypharmacy, which causes a tablet burden, predisposes to poor medication adherence, leads to adverse reactions and predisposes patients to drug-drug interaction.
In particular, the research programme will investigate the many ways in which AI can be harnessed to tackle problems such as risk prediction, causal inference, adverse event detection, deprescribing, personalised dosing and improved decision support.
AI for early stage drug discovery in infectious diseases
- Host school: Physical Sciences
- Host department: Chemistry.
This Fellowship will develop a research program of AI and data science applied to early-stage drug discovery in infectious diseases which may include generative AI, multimodal AI, machine learning and predictive modelling, integration of statistical and physics-based models to optimise efficacy and toxicity in the design of novel drug molecules in preclinical research.
The research will advance AI approaches, predictive modelling, and AI-driven synthetic design to accelerate candidate discovery and optimisation.
A key feature will be the ability to translate methodological innovation into hypotheses immediately testable in the laboratory, maximising synergy with Liverpool’s existing strengths in infectious diseases, driving AI-enabled discovery of new therapeutics.
How to apply
Click here to apply for this fellowship via our e-recruitment site.