We are seeking to appoint a post-doctoral research assistant in enzymology to work on the mechanistic characterisation of a bacterial tRNA methyltransferase, a validated drug target. The position is available in the lab of Dr Rafael da Silva in collaboration with Dr Tracey Gloster’s lab, both in the School of Biology/Biomedical Sciences Research Complex (BSRC). The post is for 24 months, funded by the Wellcome Trust.
The successful candidate will be a creative, enthusiastic and ambitious scientist who has recently completed (or is about to complete) his/her PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry or related fields, and will have a track record in cloning, expression and purification of recombinant proteins, and enzyme kinetics. Experience in X-ray crystallography, nucleic acid methyltransferase enzymology and RNA production are desirable.
The appointee will join the BSRC, a highly collaborative environment that brings together scientists from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine. It offers state-of-the-art infrastructure for enzymology and structural biology: incubators and FPLC’s for protein expression and purification; dedicated radiation rooms for manipulation of radiolabelled substrates; phosphorimager for radioactivity assays; spectrophotometers and stopped-flow spectrofluorometer for enzyme kinetics; Microcalorimeters and CD spectrometers for thermodynamics; surface-plasmon resonance for ligand screening; 2 computer clusters with 292 cores and university-wide software licenses for computational chemistry; several NMR and MS spectrometers; and a full crystallography suite including incubators with UV/VIS light imager for 600 plates nL-scale crystallization trials and 007HF rotating anode X-ray generator outfitted with cryostream and Saturn 944+ CCD detectors for crystal diffraction, and access to Diamond Light Source. There is also a large critical mass in enzymology, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, and microbiology within the BSRC, with 12 groups working in those areas.
Informal inquiries are encouraged and can be sent to Dr Rafael da Silva (rgds@st-andrews.ac.uk).
The University is committed to equality for all, demonstrated through our working on diversity awards (ECU Athena SWAN/Race Charters; Carer Positive; LGBT Charter; and Stonewall). More details can be found at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/.
Interview Date: 13 December 2017
Please quote ref: AR2000ML
Closing Date: 4 December 2017
Further Particulars: AR2000ML FPs.doc
School of Biology
Biomedical Sciences Research Complex
Salary: £32,548 per annum
Start Date: As soon as possible
Fixed Term: 24 months