Dear all, AgResearch currently has some PhD positions available. Please contact Dr Ron Ronimus if you are interested (Details below). cheers Vince We are seeking two outstanding PhD candidates to undertake research thesis projects within the overall program: “The writing is on the wall: elucidating the deep evolutionary links between cell wall synthesis in bacteria and methanogenic archaea”. Applicants are invited to apply for a three year PhD full scholarship that is funded by a prestigious Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden fund grant. The research would be undertaken at AgResearch in Palmerston North, New Zealand and the Institute of Fundamental Sciences at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (www.ifs.massey.ac.nz). PhD enrolment will be at Massey University. These two projects will investigate the early evolution of cell walls in methanogenic archaea. Bacterial cell walls are predominantly comprised of murein (peptidoglycan) which contains a glycan backbone with beta (1-4) bonds composed of alternating N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and muramic acid (NAM) residues, the latter of which is bonded to a pentapeptide. Interestingly, archaea are not known to possess murein, but instead they contain a diverse range of cell wall types composed of sulphated-heteropolysaccharides, methanochondroitin, glutaminylglycan, protein, glycoprotein surface layers or pseudomurein, the latter being a structural analogue of murein. These projects will investigate whether there are deep evolutionary connections between the biosynthesis of cell walls in methanogenic archaea and murein in bacteria using thermophilic methanogens as model organisms. The intended start date for these projects is March 1st, 2013, or as soon as possible, after this date. The closing date for applications is January 9th, 2014. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The candidates will have strong supervisory support in all aspects of the research and would be in a good position to acquire a wide range of research skills, with emphasis on structural biology and biochemical characterisation. There will be opportunities to attend conferences both in New Zealand and abroad. The stipend is 30,000$ NZ (tax free) per year for three years. Tuition fees will be paid for separately by the Marsden fund grant. The primary supervisors include Dr Andrew Sutherland-Smith (Massey University, specialising in crystal structure determinations and in vitro mutagenesis), and Dr Ron Ronimus (AgResearch, specialising in cloning, protein purification, phylogenetics and biochemical characterisation). The Marsden project also includes collaboration with Professor William F. Martin based at the University of Dusseldorf, Germany. Interested persons can contact principle investigator Dr Ron Ronimus by email ([email protected], phone (+64-6-351-8036) or Fax (+64-6-351-8003)). Alternatively, interested persons can contact Dr Andrew Sutherland-Smith (phone: +64-6-356-9099 Ext 84701; Fax: +64-6-350-5688; [email protected]).
