One trillion photoswitchable molecular devices: a molecular foundry to control protein interactions using light

Funded by the CDT in Chemical Biology: Innovation in Life Sciences – 1+3 year PhD studentships

Supervisors: Professor Matthew Fuchter | Dr Louise Walport | Professor Ed Tate

The universal ability to control (bio)molecular interactions in living or synthetic systems is a grand challenge for chemical biology. Photochemical control of biomolecular interactions is an approach to this challenge which has attracted intense recent interest. Prominent examples range from light-responsive protein domains to photoswitchable ligands (also termed photopharmacology). Whilst these examples provide proof of principle for the importance and potential of minimally invasive control of biology using light signals, they each suffer from significant disadvantages, for example a requirement for genetic manipulation, or a highly bespoke design which works only for a single highly engineered system. Here we propose to overcome the limitations of existing paradigms by developing the first discovery platform for photoswitchable ligands to any protein of interest, enabling a plethora of new approaches to light-dependent chemical biology. This project would ideally suit an outstanding chemistry graduate with some existing research experience in synthetic chemistry or chemical biology. You should also have a strong interest in applying synthetic chemistry to complex biological systems, including in the context of living cells. The successful candidate will receive training in all relevant aspects of project, including chemical synthesis, protein chemistry, biophysics and structural biology, and will have the opportunity to work across the labs of the three supervisors at the new Molecular Sciences Research Hub (Imperial White City) and the Francis Crick Institute in central London.