Job openings. Specific, active posts can be found below

Students can reach our lab via applications in the Program in Molecular Biophysics, the Chemistry-Biology Interface program, and the Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology programs. If you are at Hopkins but in a different program you may still have access to our lab, check with your program director.

We always welcome motivated post-doctoral applicants who apply for fellowships prior to joining us. Contact the P.I. if you are certain you are a good fit for the lab, and we can discuss proposals.

Interested candidates should send a CV *and* 1-2 paragraphs describing their interest in the lab to:

Dominique Frueh (dfrueh1@jhmi.edu)
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry
725 N. Wolfe Street, WBSB 713
Baltimore, Maryland 21205

Active post:

2025

The Frueh lab in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, offers a post-doctoral position to investigate how dynamic multidomain proteins remodel their conformations through post-translational modifications, ligand binding, and domain interactions. A major objective is to predict how mutations affect the conformational landscape of dynamic proteins to provide a rational basis for engineering them.

Our efforts focus on nonribosomal peptide synthetases, which are molecular assembly lines that synthesize a wealth of natural products with pharmaceutical, agricultural, or ecological applications (e.g., antibiotics, pesticides, surfactants). Our results will pave the way for producing novel derivatives of biologically active natural products with improved properties.

We seek a motivated, independent candidate who finds excitement in creative problem-solving and interdisciplinary science, who embraces designing novel approaches to overcome experimental obstacles, and who is not afraid to challenge established mechanisms when the theory and data warrant it. The successful candidate will integrate and develop approaches that combine novel NMR experiments, computational methods, and state-of-the-art single-molecule techniques. We also employ chemo-enzymatic and protein design methods to control post-translational modifications and tune function. These functional studies are assayed through product formation (e.g., HPLC-MS) or quantitative binding methods (e.g., fluorescence anisotropy, ITC, or SPR). We are especially interested in candidates with expertise in NMR spectroscopy or single-molecule techniques, but equally welcome applicants who are eager to gain skills in these areas while bringing complementary expertise in enzymatic studies, computational biology, or advanced biochemical assays. Candidates with a strong desire to learn and innovate across disciplines will find abundant opportunities to broaden their expertise through collaborations and training.

The laboratory has preferred access to a 600 MHz Bruker spectrometer equipped with a QCI cryoprobe and is a major user of AVANCE NEO 800 MHz and 600 MHz spectrometers. The equipment needed for single-molecule studies is available, and experts in the field will provide guidance or supervision. We have access to extensive departmental equipment (CryoEM, ITC, MALS, DLS, SAXS, CD, etc.) and facilities (MS, synthetic chemistry, etc.) and a 950 MHz spectrometer at the University of Maryland, 15 minutes away. The candidate should be a highly collaborative team player who will embrace the collegial and dynamic framework of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.

The successful candidate will join a small and collaborative group with a track record of determining dynamic molecular mechanisms in nonribosomal peptide synthetases (Frueh et al., Nature 2008; Mishra et al., Science Advances 2022; Gnann, Marincin et al., Curr. Op. Chem. Bio. 2022) and designing NMR methods. The latter include NMR approaches to identify fleeting molecular events during enzymatic reactions (Goodrich et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015; Arya et al., Met. Mol. Bio. 2023) or to rescue enzymatic activity (Marincin et al., J. Magn. Res. 2022), and developing novel NMR methods to overcome spectroscopic challenges (Harden et al., Met. Mol. Bio. 2018; Kancherla et al., Concepts Magn. Res. 2018; Kancherla et al., J. Phys. Chem. 2021).

Interested candidates should submit a CV and a personalized cover letter, as well as either the name and contact information of two references or two letters of reference to dfrueh1@jhmi.edu.

We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment where diverse perspectives continue to drive innovation and discovery.