De novo design of artificial enzymes for new chemical reactivity

This Chemistry PhD project will develop new catalysts for performing asymmetric chemical transformations. Nature’s catalysts, enzymes, have been perfected by evolution to perform reactions under mild conditions and with enviable asymmetric control and selectivity. Chemical catalysts, on the other hand, offer more diversity in terms of reactivity, albeit their simpler design means that reaction outcomes are more difficult to control. This PhD project will combine the advantages afforded by both the chemical and the enzymatic catalytic worlds, by rationally designing artificial metalloenzymes. This will be achieved by engineering chemical catalytic sites into de novo designed miniature artificial protein scaffolds, specifically coiled coils, with resulting designs being screened for asymmetric catalysis, and used to establish key structure-function relationships. This is a multidisciplinary project incorporating elements of asymmetric chemical catalysis and synthetic biology. The student will gain considerable experience in a range of techniques including, peptide design, synthesis and chemical functionalization, solution spectroscopic techniques and asymmetric catalysis.

An undergraduate degree in Chemistry is required.

Early application is encouraged as the position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified.