Dear CCP4ers, Could you please pass on details of this studentship opportunity to any suitable candidates?
Many thanks, Mike Fully-funded three year PhD Studentship: April 2015 Generating Structural Movies of Enzyme Catalysis Supervisor: Dr Mike Hough, University of Essex Project Overview X-ray crystal structures of enzymes are vital to our understanding of biology. Such structures, however, provide only discrete static steps of dynamic enzyme mechanisms. In this Leverhulme Trust-funded project you will use state of the art technology breakthroughs to overcome this limitation by creating ‘structural movies’ that fully reveal the catalytic functions of enzymes at atomic resolution. X-rays will be used to generate electrons within protein crystals. These electrons will migrate to redox centres and be used to initiate and drive enzyme catalytic cycles at will. Tools will be developed using emerging technologies, including ultrafast X-ray detectors allowing structures be measured in rapid succession,. Enzyme states generated in this way are representative of those in vivo, where the electrons that drive reactions would be provided by biological electron transfer. The successful applicant will develop skills in recombinant protein expression, protein crystallization, synchrotron X-ray crystallography, several single crystal spectroscopies and advanced data analysis. The PhD student will also have the exciting opportunity to work and conduct experiments at the Diamond Light Source UK (http://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home.html), the Swiss Light Source (http://www.psi.ch/sls/swiss-light-source) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (http://www.esrf.eu/). A generous stipend is provided and Home/EU fees are fully covered. https://www.essex.ac.uk/pgapply/enter.aspx Requirements: A first or upper second class degree or MSc Merit/Distinction in a relevant subject. The successful candidate will have strong organizational skills, with good oral and written communication. The candidate will be self-motivated and a team player. Informal enquiries should be addressed to Dr Mike Hough [email protected] Apply via: Deadline for applications: 31st January 2015
