Job Description

New Dendrimer drug delivery postdoc position available (March 1, 2026) at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Kannan group: krangar1@jhmi.edu)

The Kannan group at the center for nanomedicine seeks multiple, highly motivated, creative, and productive postdoctoral candidates with a strong backgrounds and exceptional scholarship in dendrimer/polymer/nanomaterials/conjugation chemistry. The postdoc fellows will work closely with researchers and faculty in multiple institutes and departments at Hopkins Medicines in collaborative areas, developing multi-functional nanodevices towards new initiatives with significant translational and start-up opportunities.

Details:

New Translational Dendrimer Chemistry/Nanomedicine Postdoctoral Fellow(s): Center for
Nanomedicine Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
The Center for Nanomedicine (CNM) is a unique translational nanotechnology research institute
located at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. It brings together engineers, basic scientists,
clinical researchers and clinicians working under one roof on translation of novel delivery
technologies for therapeutic applications and has a strong record of clinical translation.
Job Description
The Kannan group at CNM seeks multiple, highly motivated, creative, and productive
postdoctoral candidates with a strong background and exceptional scholarship in
dendrimer/polymer/nanomaterials/conjugation chemistry. The postdoc fellows will work closely
with researchers and faculty in multiple institutes and departments at Hopkins Medicines in
collaborative areas, developing multi-functional nanodevices towards new initiatives with
significant translational and start-up opportunities. The postdoc will focus on developing
compounds with applications in CNS, pain, obesity, ocular and aging disorders.
Development of Novel Dendrimer Nanomedicines/Conjugation Chemistry. Expertise in
organic, dendrimer/polymer, pharmaceutical, and/or conjugation chemistry. Significant
scholarship, and experience with innovative synthesis approaches, including synthesis of novel
dendrimers/polymers, polymer/dendrimer-drug conjugation, linker chemistry, peptide/antibody
chemistry, hydrogels, modern purification, chromatography/mass spectroscopy techniques, and
an ability to handle small quantities (~100 μg) and large quantities (~ 10-50 g) is helpful. The
candidate is expected to have a doctoral degree in organic, inorganic, dendrimer/polymer, or
pharmaceutical chemistry, or chemical engineering. Expertise in drug delivery is desireable.
The chosen candidates will work in the innovative areas of cell-targeted drug and gene delivery.
Strong collaborations with many medical departments (ophthalmology, anesthesiology and
critical care, neuroscience, neurosurgery, JH Drug Discovery, Kennedy-Krieger Institute) are
key features of the research. The group has extensive polymer, in vitro and in vivo
characterization facilities, with labs located at the state-of-the-art Smith Building at the Wilmer
Eye Institute. The dendrimer technology has shown significant promise in multiple Phase 1 and
Phase 2 clinical trials in transformative indications. The position is available from March 1, 2026
(Earlier appointments possible), with a competitive salary, and will be for 1-2 years, and may
continue if performance is satisfactory. The candidates must be strong collaborators, and have
excellent writing and communication skills. The candidates will collaborate closely with Prof.
Sujatha Kannan (Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine) and Prof. Kunal Parikh
(Nanomedicine, Ophthalmology, Biomedical Engineering).
Applicants are encouraged to send an electronic curriculum vitae and a short cover letter
describing research interests, experience, and qualifications, to Prof. Rangaramanujam Kannan
(Co-director, Center for Nanomedicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine) (krangar1@jhmi.edu) at the
CNM. Successful candidates will be asked to provide letters of reference from
mentors/supervisors from previous and current affiliations.