Dr C Crump, Dr R Beale
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
This project will employ CRISPR/Cas9-based screens to identify host factors that have pro-viral or anti-viral functions. Our laboratories work on influenza and HSV, and we have a shared interest in BK polyomavirus. This small DNA virus encodes only six proteins and so is exquisitely reliant on host factors for replication. However, we have minimal understanding of which cellular factors are involved. Discovering these will lead to better understanding of both the virus and host cell biology. BK polyomavirus can cause significant medical problems for kidney transplant patients, so the work may also identify new antiviral targets.
Funding Notes
Funding* will cover the student’s stipend at the current Research Council rate and University Fees, currently £14,296 pa. The studentships will be funded for three years in the first instance subject to eligibility**, with the possibility of additional funding in the fourth year depending on circumstances.
**The studentships are available to UK nationals and EU students who meet the UK residency requirements. Further information about your fee status can be found at the following website:
http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/fees/what-my-fee-status
Applications from ineligible candidates will not be considered.
References
Albecka A, Laine RF, Janssen AFJ, Kaminski CF, Crump CM (2016) HSV-1 glycoproteins are delivered to virus assembly sites through dynamin-dependent endocytosis. Traffic, 17(1):21-39
Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy. Klionsky DJ, Beale R and many others. Autophagy, 2016;12(1):1-222.
Evans GL, Caller LG, Foster V, and Crump CM. (2015) Anion homeostasis is important for non-lytic release of BK polyomavirus from infected cells. Open Biol. 5: 150041
Laine F, Albecka A, van de Linde S, Rees EJ, Crump CM*, Kaminski CF* (2015) Structural analysis of Herpes Simplex Virus by optical super-resolution imaging. Nat. Commun. 6:5980 doi: 10.1038/ncomms6980
A LC3-interacting motif in the influenza A virus M2 protein is required to subvert autophagy and maintain virion stability. Beale R, Wise H, Stuart A, Ravenhill BJ, Digard P, Randow F. Cell Host Microbe. 2014 Feb 12;15(2):239-47.