They have an immediate opening in the Plückthun lab at the Department of
Biochemistry (University of Zürich, Switzerland) for a PhD student to
become part of the protein engineering team on the structure-guided
development of designed Armadillo-repeat proteins.
The lab seeks a talented and motivated individual with expertise in
molecular biology, protein purification and characterization with a
successfully completed master degree. Previous experience in X-ray
crystallography, combinatorial biochemistry and protein engineering
would be an asset. Candidates with one or more of these skills with an
interest to learn the others are highly encouraged to apply.
The project aims to drastically shortcut the protein design cycle by
creating constructs of designed Armadillo-repeat proteins (dArmRP) that
crystallize predictably, leading to very rapid structure determination.
dArmRPs are being developed to develop a general recognition code for
unstructured peptide stretches in many scenarios, and the successful
candidate would contribute to developing this system.
Their lab has an outstanding reputation for the design, characterisation,
and selection of artificial binding proteins, such as antibodies, and
designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins), but so far, all artificial
binding proteins must be selected from combinatorial protein libraries.
To eliminate the time- and labor-intensive selection process they are
establishing dArmRPs as rationally designed binders that specifically
recognize the targeted sequence in a predictable way. Background on the
dArmRP project can be found in Hansen et al. 2016 (J Am Chem Soc.
138:3526) and 2018 (J Struct Biol. 201:108) and on our homepage
(https://www.bioc.uzh.ch/plueckthun/).
To support your PhD project they have access to in-house X-ray
crystallography facilities, the protein crystallization center and
regular access to the Swiss Light Source (SLS), a 3^rd generation
synchrotron nearby. They are not only doing cutting-edge basic protein
engineering, but we are also applying our tools to target medically
relevant questions, particularly from the field of cancer research. They
are a very interdisciplinary group with expertise ranging to eukaryotic
cell biology and even animal models. This interdisciplinary approach
allows a speedy conversion of your results into applied research.
The city of Zürich offers a very high standard of living, excellent
opportunities for hiking, skiing and aquatic sports, and a thriving arts
and culture scene.
Please submit your application or informal inquiries to
mittl@bioc.uzh.ch or pvogt@bioc.uzh.ch. Application deadline: August 15,
2018
