IISER Tirupati Research Associate-1 Drug Discovery 2026

IISER Tirupati Research Associate-1 Recruitment 2026: Overview

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, an autonomous Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Education, is hiring a Research Associate-1 for the research project "Drug discovery from rare Actinomycetes" under Advertisement No. 88/2026. The project is led by Dr Hussain Bhukya and works on finding new natural products from rare soil bacteria and testing their antibacterial and anticancer potential. This is a purely contractual, project-linked position open only to Indian nationals. If you hold a PhD in Life Sciences or Chemical Sciences — or have already submitted your thesis — and enjoy bench work in natural product chemistry or microbiology, this post is worth a look.

A quick note on the department: the institute's recruitment portal lists this advertisement under the Department of Physics, but the advertisement itself describes a drug discovery project that needs a Life Sciences or Chemical Sciences PhD. Go by the advertisement when you check your fit.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Tenure: The position is temporary for one year, with a possible six-month extension after a performance review.
• Thesis-submitted candidates: If your PhD is not yet awarded, you are paid at the lower fellowship rate and must show a letter from a competent authority confirming that your thesis is submitted and only the viva is pending.
• Research evidence: You must show proof of high-quality research done during or after your PhD.
• Research grant: A nominal research grant comes with the position.
• No absorption: The appointment ends automatically with the project, and you will have no claim to a permanent job at IISER Tirupati.
• Funding-agency rules: Your terms follow the conditions of the agency funding the project.
• Shortlisting: A screening committee may call only a limited number of candidates for interview, judging qualifications and experience above the minimum — list all your relevant work in the form.
• Interview travel: No TA/DA is paid for attending the interview.
• Joining: The selected candidate must join immediately after receiving the offer.
• Other fellowships: Once selected, you can route applications for competitive postdoctoral fellowships such as SERB N-PDF, DBT-RA, CSIR-RA or ICMR through the institute.

Application Submission Notes

This post accepts email applications only. Download the prescribed application form from the IISER Tirupati advertisement page, fill it in, convert it to PDF, and email it to hussainbhukya@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in before the 5:00 PM cut-off on the last date. Write "Research Associate-1: 88/2026" in the email subject line. A CV or resume alone is not treated as a complete application. Give an active mobile number and email ID in the form, because shortlisted candidates are informed by email only; certificates and photographs are collected later in the process.