Project title: Conformational switching upon ligand binding
A Ph.D. position (E13 TV-L, 50-65%) is available at the “Theoretical Chemical Biology and Protein Modelling“ group of the Technical University of Munich. The project is embedded in the dynamic research environment of the Collaborative Research Center “Control of protein function by conformational switching” (SFB1035), in which biochemical and biophysical aspects of the influence of protein dynamics on function are studied.
Research topic
The goal of the project is the development of new, efficient methods for the computational description of conformational switching in proteins upon ligand binding. Ligand-binding induced conformational switching is one of the fundamental structural principles behind many biological processes like signal transduction or chaperone-assisted protein folding. It also plays an important role for practical applications, e.g. in the fields of computer-aided drug design and protein engineering. As the currently available theoretical methods have only a very limited capability to properly describe these processes, the development of new, efficient methods, which allow a detailed description and eventually the prediction of conformational switching events, is one of the major challenges and goals in theoretical biochemistry/biophysics. In the specific project it is planned to combine approaches from theoretical biophysics and chemistry with methods from bioinformatics for an accurate, yet efficient description of these events. As the project is part of the SFB1035 there will be close collaborations with experimental groups studying the same scientific questions by different techniques. This will allow a very efficient evaluation and thus optimization of the new approach and will also provide an excellent opportunity to gain comprehensive knowledge about current research trends and different (experimental) techniques used in the fields of modern molecular biochemistry and biophysics.
Research environment
The “Theoretical Chemical Biology and Protein Modelling” group is a highly interdisciplinary group focusing on the development of new computational approaches, which allow for an efficient description of biomolecular recognition and dynamics, thereby integrating topics from fundamental molecular biology to practical applications like protein engineering and computer-aided drug design. The group is located at the Life Science Campus of the Technical University of Munich and is an integral part of several internationally recognized research centers in the field of protein science, including the Cluster of Excellence “Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich“ (CIPSM), thus offering an excellent, dynamic environment for innovative and collaborative research across disciplines (for more detailed information about the group please visit: http://www.wzw.tum.de/tcb).
Qualifications
We are looking for candidates with a strong background in either computational/theoretical chemistry or physics or structural bioinformatics, who would like to engage in interdisciplinary research, are highly motivated, creative, and able to work independently and in a team. Experience with the structural simulation of biomolecules (MD) and programming skills are of advantage.
Application
Applicants should send the usual application material, including a detailed letter of motivation, CV (with transcripts), publication list, and contact information of three potential referees, as a single PDF file to: [log in to unmask]
Contact information:
Prof. Dr. Iris Antes
Technische Universitaet Muenchen
Department of Life Sciences
Emil-Erlenmeyer-Forum 8
D-85354 Freising
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