PhD Studentship at University of Cambridge, 2012

PhD Studentship: Exploring Nucleic Acid Structure, Function and Recognition

Department of Chemistry

Vacancy Reference No: MA09060

Applications are invited for a four-year BBSRC-funded CASE PhD studentship to work under the supervision of Professor Balasubramanian in collaboration with the biotech company Illumina UK.

ABOUT THE SUPERVISOR AND GROUP:

The Balasubramanian group was involved in the creation of Solexa next generation DNA sequencing (now owned by Illumina). The project will have a strong chemistry component and will involve exploitation of the same platform to explore the construction and interrogation of arrays of nucleic acids of extremely high complexity (typically around one billion features per array). These arrays may constitute sequences and/or structures of DNA or RNA derived from the genome that can be systematically investigated e.g. for protein binding, or drug binding, with the goal of addressing important questions in the life sciences. Our group has a particular interest in four stranded DNA/RNA structures called G-quadruplexes, the investigation of which will form at least part of the project.

Professor Balasubramanian's research group specialises in the chemical biology of nucleic acids and the genome (http://www-shankar.ch.cam.ac.uk). Illumina (http://www.illumina.com) is a world leading life sciences company that specializes in reagents and instrumentation for genomic analysis that includes the world's forefront next generation sequencing technology. For related reading see: Nature, 456, 53-59 (2008); Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 10, 261-275 (2011); Nature Biotechnology, 29, 659-664 (2011).

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENT:

Applicants should have a strong background in chemistry and the molecular sciences, be a good communicator and be highly motivated. The ideal applicant should have an interest in working as part of an interdisciplinary team involving chemistry and molecular biology. Aspects of the project will be carried out at Illumina Cambridge Ltd. which is based near the University of Cambridge.

Applicants must have (or be about to obtain) at least the equivalent of a UK II.1 honours degree (and preferably a Masters) in chemistry or other relevant discipline. The studentship covers tuition fees plus a maintenance grant for UK and other EU nationals who satisfy the eligibility requirements of the UK Research Councils. Owing to funding restrictions, the studentship is not available to non-EU nationals.

DATE OF APPLICATION AND DEADLINE:

The studentship is available from October 2012, though a start in January or April 2013 may also be possible. Applications should include a CV, a personal statement of interest, contact details for two referees, and should be sent electronically to herchel-smith-medchem-pa@ch.cam.ac.uk. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Balasubramanian (sb10031@cam.ac.uk).

* Limit of tenure: 4 years.

Closing date: 27 January 2012.

FOR DETAILS, PLEASE REFER http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/jobs/vacancies.cgi?job=9060