Opportunities

Lea The Jakeman research laboratory comprises 1800 sq. ft. located in the Burbidge Building. It is well equipped for research in areas including organic synthesis, enzymology, microbiology and protein engineering. The laboratory has its own triple quad mass spectrometer and generally excellent research infrastructure.

Organic synthesis, natural products isolation, enzymology and the use of NMR spectroscopy to investigate ligand-protein interactions are core research strengths. Students will also have significant exposure to carbohydrates, enzymology, protein chemistry and structural characterization of macromolecules by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and mass spectrometry. The fundamental training received in the laboratory situates students well for any future endeavours.

Trainees (undergraduate, graduate or PDF) with strong academic backgrounds are encouraged to contact Dr. Jakeman if they are interested in conducting research in the laboratory.

Many trainees have received federal NSERC or CIHR training awards as USRA students, graduate students or PDF fellows.

The laboratory has weekly group meetings where progress and problems are discussed collaboratively and new plans of attack formulated. We participate in a twice-monthly journal club with several other protein / enzyme interested research groups.

Dalhousie is a Killam Trust funded university and outstanding trainees may be eligible for pre-doctoral or post-doctoral awards.

Trainees from the Jakeman laboratory have undertaken a variety of careers:

Undergraduate pharmacy students have gone on to study medicine, to hospital pharmacy residency programs or practice as community pharmacists.

Undergraduate chemistry (B.Sc hons.) students have gone on to study medicine, dentistry or gone on to graduate school (pharmacology, chemistry).

M.Sc. graduate students (chemistry) have obtained jobs in the pharmaceutical industry in Canada and in the US, others have gone onto work for the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, obtained jobs as chemical safety officers and some have gone on to Ph.D. programs elsewhere.

Ph.D. graduate students (chemistry) have obtained PDF positions in the USA, gone on to be faculty in the US. Others have gone on to study medicine.

Post-doctoral fellows have entered the pharmaceutical industry within the Maritimes, the UK or India.

Dr. Jakeman is currently reviewing applications from new graduate students. If you are interested in submitting an application to the MSc or PhD (Chemistry) programs, please contact Lea Gawne, the Department of Chemistry graduate studies secretary. If you are interested in the MSc (Pharmaceutical Sciences) program, please contact Kaylon Fraser (pharmadm@dal.ca), the Pharmacy graduate studies secretary.