https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/XM_0025To obtain experience in doing scientific research within the fields of molecular pharmacology/receptor biochemistry, computational drug design or organic synthesis in one of the following settings:University or Academic hospital Research institute CompanyThe internship can be performed either within the Netherlands or abroad.In medicinal chemistry research, molecular pharmacology, biochemistry, computational chemistry and organic synthesis are important for designing and preparing small organic ligands as e.g. protein modulators as well as to interrogate (receptor) proteins and/or signaling networks in relation to health and disease. During the traineeship, the student actively participates in a research project as exerted by the host group/institute and consists of one of the following sub-disciplines:Molecular pharmacologyReceptor biochemistryOrganic synthesis(computational) Drug designAttention will be paid to setting up new research/experiments, using state-of-the-art experimental techniques, analyzing experimental results and keeping adequate documentation. In all, the student will get exposed to doing research as well as to contemporary molecular pharmacological, receptor biochemistry, synthetic or computational design techniques.Literature review, formulating a research question, conducting experiments, keeping adequate documentation (e.g. labjournal), analyzing data, reporting on results in progress/group meetings, in a written thesis and final presentation within the research group.The internship needs to be registered in the online internship management system, where progress and assessment is recorded. The following components are assessed and a minimum passing grade (5.5 or higher) must be obtained for each component: Academic attitude (15%), execution (35%), oral presentation (15%) and written thesis (35%).Starting literature will be provided by the supervisor. The first 1-2 weeks of the traineeship will be spent on literature reading and preparation for the project.Only for students following the Education variant of mDDS-Molecular Pharmacology, mDDS-Synthesis of Drugs, mDDS-Computer-Aided Drug DesignThe number of internal (VU) internship positions is limited and there may be a selection procedure. Contact potential VU supervisors from the group for more information about internship opportunities. You can consult the canvas community “Master Drug Discovery Sciences” for more information about potential VU supervisors and the application procedure. Be aware that a selection procedure applies for most external internship positions as well. Before the start of an external project, the UNL internship agreement has to be signed by all involved parties and the project proposal has to be approved by the VU supervisor via the online internship management system. Sometimes an additional Non Disclosure agreement (NDA) needs to be signed as well. This process can be time-consuming and should, therefore, be started several months in advance. Consult the “Master Drug Discovery Sciences Internship manual” on Canvas for more information on the rules and regulations regarding internships. If, after reading the manual, you still have questions regarding the process related to internships, admission, approval, etc., please contact the internship coordinator via
[email protected].The standard length of this major internship is 24 EC (4 months) and can be extended to 36 EC (6 months). Make sure you discuss your personal education plan with your master (track) coordinator well in advance. See the “Master Drug Discovery Sciences Internship manual” for more information (rules, regulations, tips, etc.) on the internship process. This manual can be found on the canvas community “Master Drug Discovery Sciences”.Entry requirements with respect to attained courses and number of credits apply. See the Teaching and Examination regulation (TER) and the internship manual Drug Discovery Sciences. For questions, consult the internship coordinator well in advance (
[email protected]).See the Canvas community "Drug Discovery Sciences"