Jobs in Structural Biology and Related Fields


PhD positions in Synthetic and Structural Biology


Max Planck Centre for Minimal Biology, Bristol, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 02 Dec 2019


The Max Planck Centre for Minimal Biology is looking for highly motivated and ambitious individuals to progress their R&D programme on synthetic viral nanosystems (SVNs), to fill two PhD posts available: one in next-generation vaccines and one in novel genome engineering tools. The projects are in the frame of the BBSRC funded doctoral training programme of the Sout West (SWBio DTP) and underpinned by the European Research Council (ERC AdG DNA-DOCK) and the EPSRC Innovative Vaccine Manufacturing and Research Hub.

The posts advertised synergistically combine complementary expertise in the groups of Imre Berger (Max Planck Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology), Christiane Schaffitzel (School of Biochemistry and Wellcome GW4 Cryo-EM Centre Bristol), Mark Dillingham (DNA Biology Unit, Bristol University Bristol) and Frederic Garzoni from Imophoron SARL, an award-winning vaccine innovator start-up at UnitDX Bristol.

The projects follow from recent discoveries (e.g. Synthetic self-assembling ADDomer platform for highly efficient vaccination by genetically encoded multiepitope display, Science Advances, 2019; MultiBac: Baculovirus-Mediated Multigene DNA Cargo Delivery in Insect and Mammalian Cells, Viruses 2019; Highly efficient baculovirus-mediated multigene delivery in primary cells. Nature Communications 2016) and aim to bring about a step-change in the application of SVNs to combat infectious and genetic disease.

The successful candidates should have a BSc, MSc or equivalent degree in synthetic biology, molecular biology, protein biochemistry or related fields and a strong interest in biodesign, protein engineering, biochemistry and structural biology. We are looking for a creative and ambitious person with good communication skills and keen to work on challenging projects.

The Max Planck Center for Minimal Biology is a joint initiative of the University of Bristol UK and the Max Planck Gesellschaft, Germany. The groups involved use synthetic biology, protein engineering, in vitro selection/evolution, cryo-electron microscopy, x-ray crystallography) to create new vaccines and advanced genome engineering tools.

The groups at Bristol have excellent access to state-of-the-art synthetic biology technologies including platforms for in vitro selection/evolution (Ribosome Display) and protein production (MultiBac). The in house EM facility is equipped with a microscopes including an Arctica/K2. Additionally, we have access to the Titan Krios microscopes and the X-ray beamlines at the nearby National Facility at Diamond/Harwell. Other facilities on the Bristol campus include microfluidics, high performance computing, high-field NMR and high-throughput crystallisation Biosuite, mammalian facilities, biophysical platform and confocal microscopy in the Bristol BioSuite and Wolfson facilities.

Click the links below for more information and to apply:

PhD - ADDomer: Synthetic Multiepitope Virus-Like Particle Platform for Next-Generation Vaccinesclick

PhD - Precision Genome Editing using Modulators of dsDNA Break Repair Pathways

Max Planck Centre for Minimal Biology, Bristol, United Kingdom

PhD positions in Synthetic and Structural Biology