Research Fellow Amyloid Structures - University of Sussex

Vacancy Reference Number
0739
Closing Date
13 Mar 2019
Salary
£33,199 to £39,609 per annum, pro rata if applicable
Address
School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex
Duration
Fixed term for 2 years

Project title: The suprastructure-function relationship between amyloid assemblies and their toxic and infectious potentials

Expected Interview date: within 2 weeks of deadline.

Applications are invited for a full-time Post-doctoral Research Fellow to join the multidisciplinary research team of Professor Louise Serpell in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex in collaboration with Dr Wei-Feng Xue at the University of Kent.

Amyloid structures are associated with devastating human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, but not all amyloid structures are disease-associated and toxic to cells. Why some amyloid are disease-associated, toxic, and potentially infectious particles while others are not is a fundamentally important question yet to be answered. Prof. Louise Serpell’s laboratory at the University of Sussex is looking for a bright, enthusiastic and motivated postdoctoral researcher to join a BBSRC funded project to systematically correlate the suprastructural parameters of amyloidogenic proteins (from short amyloidogenic penta/hexa-peptide sequences, human amyloid-beta peptides, human alpha-synuclein, and yeast Sup35NM prion protein) to their infective and/or cytotoxic behaviours.

The overall aim of this multidisciplinary project is to address the hypothesis that the suprastructural properties are important determinants for the behaviour of amyloid aggregates in biology. The post based in Prof. Serpell’s laboratory will be in close collaboration with the Xue group at Kent to correlate biophysical characteristics of these amyloidogenic proteins with cellular, toxicity studies. The project will involve confocal, fluorescence and electron microscopy to evaluate toxic effects, internalisation and organelle damage associated with amyloid protein assemblies. This project will be undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Xue who has expertise in amyloid assembly, structure and function, as well as AFM imaging and image analysis of amyloid assemblies. The School of Life Sceinces is well-equipped with tissue culture facilities, high resolution and live imaging confocal systems and other equipment.

This post is a 2-year BBSRC funded postdoctoral position. Application deadline is 1st March October 2019 and interviews of the shortlisted candidates will take place shortly after the deadline. Applicants must have a PhD (or have submitted his/her PhD thesis) in a relevant subject area such as Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Biology etc. Candidates should also have experience in tissue culture, primary cell culture, fluorescence microscopy and preferably TEM imaging methods and knowledge of protein self-assembly, as well as a strong interest in protein structure-function relationships. For more information or informal enquiries please contact Prof. Louise Serpell L.C.Serpell@sussex.ac.uk 01273 877363

An overview of research within the Biochemistry and Sussex Neuroscience themes scan be found at School of Life Sciences

The School is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and currently holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award. Applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex. The School of Life Sciences welcomes applications to academic posts from candidates who wish to work part-time or as job-sharers.

The University offers various schemes to provide real benefits to parents, these can be found at Family Friendly Policies

Applications should be accompanied by a full CV, a statement of research interests and aspirations (not more than 1 page), and the names of three academic referees.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

For more information and to apply, click here

Contact Details

Prof. Louise Serpell: L.C.Serpell@sussex.ac.uk
01273 877363