Prof M Caffrey
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Applications are invited for an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) position funded by The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) programme Rationalising Membrane Protein Crystallisation (RAMP) and based in the Membrane Structural and Functional Biology (MS&FB) Group at Trinity College Dublin.
The ESR will work on the mechanism of membrane protein crystallisation by the lipid cubic phase (in meso) method (Acta Cryst. D71:3; Nature 49:521; Science 351:876) toward the development of a more rational approach for crystallogenesis. The specific objectives of the project include evaluating the effectiveness of novel lipids and lipid combinations in crystallising different target membrane proteins, mapping temperature/composition phase diagrams for these lipids, and establishing their compatibility with components of precipitant solutions, additive lipids and detergents and the nature of the final mesophase type in which crystals grow. Appropriate training will be provided as needed. The MS&FB laboratories are equipped with the latest methodologies, instrumentation and materials for membrane molecular and structural biology research, some of which was developed in-house (J. Struct. Biol. 142:108; Acta Cryst. D60:1795; Proteins 71:24; Acta Cryst. D72:93).
The PhD project is one of 12 in this training network. The project will involve secondments to other network partners with specialised crystallography expertise, or derived applications.
Candidates should have a high-level honours (2.1 or above) degree or its equivalent in Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, or a related discipline and have a keen interest in the relationship between structure and function. Since lipid cubic phase crystallogenesis is a major focus of the MS&FB Group synthetic organic chemistry experience is a plus and would be used in support of ongoing lipid screen development by the ESR.
Candidates must comply with EU and Trinity College Dublin eligibility criteria. Due to the EU rules to promote mobility, you are not eligible for a position in a country where you have lived (worked, studied) for more than 12 months in the last 3 years. So for this position you are eligible, unless you have studied or worked in Ireland for more than 12 of the last 36 months. For applicants finishing or who have just finished their degree, this typically means that you can be graduating from any university except an Irish university.
Further details on this project are available from Prof. Martin Caffrey ([Email Address Removed]). Further details about Trinity College Dublin are available here: https://www.tcd.ie/
Details on how to apply are available at, www.ramp.itn.eu.
Funding Notes
The PhD students (Early Stage Researchers (ESR)s in EU jargon) will be paid a salary in line with the, generous, MSCA requirements, for 36 months. The exact salaries will be confirmed later, but MSCA salaries are significantly above, for example, the standard UK PhD stipend of £15,000 (€17,000) per year.