Three-year Post-doctoral Research Assistant in peptide chemistry, design and ideally structural biology.
Salary: £30,122 - £33,884 Level a in Pathway 2
Closing date for applications: 9:00am 04 Arpril 2012
Description
A three-year BBSRC-funded post-doctoral position (Post A) is available to explore the design and characterisation of self-assembling membrane-spanning ion-channel peptides. The project is collaborative between the groups of Profs Dek Woolfson (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Leo Brady (Biochemistry). The work will also be in close collaboration with Prof Hagan Bayley's laboratory (University of Oxford, Chemistry), where there will be a second aligned Research Assistant position (Post B) in membrane biophysics and electrophysiology (see below).
The whole project builds on recent successes within these groups to engineer water-soluble alpha-helical channel-containing peptide assemblies, called CC-Hex, (Bristol; Nature Chem Biol 7:935-941 (2011), DOI: 10.1038/NCHEMBIO.692, Fig. 1); and to construct droplet-interface bilayer membrane systems (DIBs) that incorporate engineered ion-channels (Oxford; Nature Nanotechnol 6: 803-808 (2011), doi:10.1038/nnano.2011.183).
Figure 1: Different projections of CC-Hex showing the barrel and pore.
The aims of this ambitious, multidisciplinary project are broadly: (1) to redesign CC-Hex to insert into membranes; (2) to engineer the channel of CC-Hex to bind and transport ions and small molecules across membranes; (3) to characterise the membrane-insertion and ion-channel properties using DIBs and electrophysiology assays; and (4) to characterize successful designs by structural methods, notably X-ray crystallography. The project will require two talented and complementary post-doctoral researchers in peptide chemistry, design and ideally structural biology (Post A, Bristol), and membrane biophysics and electrophysiology (Post B, Oxford).
Given the strengths of the collaborative teams and the scope of the project, these posts offer excellent opportunities to early stage researchers to move into the exciting areas of bionanotechnology and synthetic biology.
Informal enquires about these positions can be made to Prof Woolfson, D.N.Woolfson@bristol.ac.uk (for Post A, Research Assistant in peptide chemistry, design and ideally structural biology) or Prof Bayley, Hagan.Bayley@chem.ox.ac.uk (for post B, Research Assistant in membrane biophysics and electrophysiology).
Applications for the Bristol position of Research Assistant in peptide chemistry, design and structural biology (Post A) should be directed to the University of Bristol through the links provided in this advertisement; while applications for the post of Research Assistant in membrane biophysics and electrophysiology (Post B) should be directed to the University of Oxford, https://www.recruit.ox.ac.uk/pls/hrisliverecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=102391
For the Bristol post (post A) the successful applicant for this vacancy may be appointed either on a fixed-term or an open-ended contract depending on the extent of your previous relevant research experience. Three years’ appropriate and relevant experience at another higher education institution would normally lead to an appointment on an open-ended contract. Further information can be found at www.bristol.ac.uk/hr/ftc/
Further information
Download full details (17026fds.doc)
If you do not have Microsoft Word you may require a Word document reader to open this file: Open Office - download, or Word viewer are available.
Contact for informal enquiries:
Prof DN Woolfson: D.N.Woolfson@bristol.ac.uk
Prof H Bailey: hagan.bayley@chem.ox.ac.uk
