Chemical Biology of Fabry Disease: structure, inhibition, imaging

This 4 Year BBSRC studentship is offered in the laboratories of Gideon Davies, FRS and Lianne Willems at the University of York.

Carbohydrates, glycans, are central to human life. They coat our cells, acting as molecular bar-codes; they are the “language of the cell”. They modulate cellular communication. Yet, frequently these glycan codes are disrupted in disease, high jacked by pathogens and the enzymes involved in synthesis and degradation are frequently linked to genetic disease, including lysosomal storage diseases. But glycans are complex, and precision tools are needed for their study. Your work will enable their development and application.

The PhD project will bring together structural and chemical biology techniques to study the enzymes of the lysosomal storage disease Fabry. You will use molecular biology to clone and express human (and related) galactosyltransferases. Solve their 3D structures and then develop cutting-edge chemical tools to image the enzymes in vivo, you will screen compound libraries, and develop drug like molecules as therapeutic leads. There are potential training opportunities with collaborators in the Netherlands and Spain.

Gideon Davies, FRS and Lianne Willems will provide training in modern structural and chemical biology within the rich and caring PhD training environment of The York Structural Biology Laboratory, including its state of the art equipment and new buildings for X ray, NMR and CryoEM opening in Autumn 2020.

All Chemistry research students have access to our innovative Doctoral Training in Chemistry (iDTC): cohort-based training to support the development of scientific, transferable and employability skills: https://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/postgraduate/idtc/

The White Rose DTP in Mechanistic Biology is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.

The Department of Chemistry holds an Athena SWAN Gold Award and is committed to supporting equality and diversity for all staff and students. The Department strives to provide a working environment which allows all staff and students to contribute fully, to flourish, and to excel: https://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/ed/. This PhD project is available to study full-time or part-time (50%) unless you require a student visa to study in the UK when you should check the restrictions of your visa as it is very likely you will have to study full time.

This PhD will formally start on 1 October 2021. Induction activities will start on 27 September.

For more information about the project, click on the supervisor’s name above to email the supervisor. For more information about the application process or funding, please click on email institution