Available positions

ESR05

WP2-WP3. Construction of vesicle systems and engineering of membrane proteins.

Recruiting institution: University of Groningen

Location: Groningen, Netherlands

Supervisors: Bert Poolman, Dirk-Jan Slotboom

Project description:

Synthetic network with control of vesicle volume via sensing of membrane stress and osmotic pressure changes by osmoregulatory transporters and mechanosensitive channel proteins. The research involves state-of-the-art reconstitution technology and functional analyses of membrane transport by ensemble and single-molecule optical measurements.

Secondments:

  1. VIB-KU Leuven (Belgium). Electrophysiology analysis of ion channels.

  2. Zymvol Biomodeling S.L. (Spain). In silico study of MscL/MscS mutagenesis.

  3. University of Warsaw (Poland). Nanoscale visualization of ion channels in lipid bilayer.

PhD awarding entity: University of Groningen

Qualifications: The candidate is expected to have a (research) master’s degree in biophysics, biochemistry and/or molecular biology, and a strong interest in biomolecular mechanisms. Have good teamwork skills, a “can-do” mentality, are perseverant and have excellent communication skills in English.

Skills: Experience of working with membrane proteins, membrane vesicle systems and optical microscopy is beneficial.

Experience: Experimental laboratory skills, preferably quantitative analysis of reactions and analytes, experience with optical microscopy (confocal and super-resolution imaging, smFRET).

Other benefits: 4-year PhD trajectory, the University of Groningen funds an additional year of research.

Expected start day: September-October, 2021