A PhD student position will soon be available in my group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid (Spain). We are looking for outstanding students who have a strong background in biochemistry and/or biology, and are highly motivated to learn single-particle cryo-EM. International students are highly encouraged to apply!

Our lab is part of the renewed CNIO structural biology program and we are interested in the mechanisms behind the molecular machines that take care of our genome. In particular, the project will focus on the processes that regulate the mitochondrial genome and their implication in disease. For this, we take advantage of the latest developments in cryo-EM and combine it with biochemistry and other biophysical techniques to study the structural details of these macromolecular complexes and learn about how they work, how they are regulated, and the implications of their function for the biology of the cell. The student joining the lab will have access to the excellent laboratory facilities at CNIO, state-of-the-art electron microscopes, and will have the opportunity to be trained in biochemistry and cryo-EM from skilled and experienced researchers.

This is a great opportunity to be part of a cancer research centre of excellence and work in an international and highly multidisciplinary scientific environment that will boost the possibilities of your research. In addition, Madrid is a very well-connected and vibrant city that you will love (and weather and food are excellent!).

The PhD studentship covers for the salary and academic fees for the 4-year PhD program, and facilitates student mobility providing full support to perform short research stays in other institutions. Please circulate this information so it gets to any potential candidate, thanks!

The call will be announced soon and won’t be open for very long. If you want to join my lab to work on this exciting project and learn cryo-EM… email me!

Rafa F. Leiro