Nanomedicine has benefited significantly from the development of nanotechnology in medical/pharmaceutical research. This is especially noteworthy in the generation of new systems for disease diagnosis and the delivery of therapeutics. Although several nanocarrier systems based on micelles, liposomes, inorganic/polymer nanoparticles (e.g. ferritins, virus-like particles) have been in development, these systems have substantial limitations including issues of poor biocompatibility, high toxicity, lack of site-specificity, low drug loading, and instability.
We have recently invented a way to create new protein cages based on the polyhedral protein shells of bacterial microcompartments. This PhD project aims to explore this exciting opportunity and to evaluate the capacities of the engineered protein cages as carrier systems in site-specific delivery of therapeutic drugs in cancer treatment. The outcomes of this study will have broad implications in the development of therapeutic drug delivery in many disease areas and may also provide opportunities to address other medical needs and challenges in health care.
This is truly a multidisciplinary project and will integrate a variety of experimental approaches in synthetic biology, biochemistry, microscopy, and cancer biology. It will offer excellent opportunities for the student to work at the interface between biology, medicine, chemistry, and synthetic engineering. The student will develop diverse skills in synthetic biology, biochemistry, microscopy, proteomics, metabolomics, cellular assays, as well as data analysis and statistics. He/she will also gain good experience in pharmacology and cell physiology from this project. Moreover, the student will work in collaborative environments and have opportunities to develop his/her communication skills with the team members and collaborators and beyond.
Highly motivated applicants holding a Masters’ degree or a BSc at first or high 2:1 class in biochemistry / synthetic biology / molecular biology/ biomedical science or other relevant areas in Life and Biomedical Sciences are encouraged to contact Professor Luning Liu ([Email Address Removed], www.luningliu.org, Twitter: @luningliu) for the details of the project and studentship application. Experience of lab work in protein biochemistry, microscopy, and cancer biology would be an advantage.
Benefits of being in the DiMeN DTP:
This project is part of the Discovery Medicine North Doctoral Training Partnership (DiMeN DTP), a diverse community of PhD students across the North of England researching the major health problems facing the world today. Our partner institutions (Universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, York and Sheffield) are internationally recognised as centres of research excellence and can offer you access to state-of the-art facilities to deliver high impact research.
We are very proud of our student-centred ethos and committed to supporting you throughout your PhD. As part of the DTP, we offer bespoke training in key skills sought after in early career researchers, as well as opportunities to broaden your career horizons in a range of non-academic sectors.
Being funded by the MRC means you can access additional funding for research placements, international training opportunities or internships in science policy, science communication and beyond. See how our current DiMeN students have benefited from this funding here: http://www.dimen.org.uk/overview/student-profiles/flexible-supplement-awards
Further information on the programme and how to apply can be found on our website:
http://www.dimen.org.uk/how-to-apply/application-overview
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