Postdoctoral Training Fellow - Structural Biology : London, United Kingdom

Structural biology

This is a full-time fixed term position for 4 years on Crick Terms & Conditions of Employment
Salary from £33,500 – £36,500 per annum subject to skills and experience

Context

The Francis Crick institute (the Crick) is a partnership between the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the Wellcome Trust, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London and King’s College London. It is a registered charity whose purpose is to conduct biomedical research into all aspects of human health and disease.

The Institute will be a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation. It will promote connections between researchers and disciplines and between academic institutions, healthcare organisations and businesses. Dedicated to research excellence, the institute will have the scale, vision and expertise to tackle the most challenging scientific questions underpinning health and disease. It will be world-class with a strong national role — training scientists and developing ideas for public good. On 1 April 2015, staff from the London Research Institute (CRUK) and National Institute for Medical Research (MRC) transferred to the Crick to form a fully functional research institute on four sites. In 2016, the Crick will move to a single new, purpose built research centre in St. Pancras which will house some 1,500 staff.

The position of Postdoctoral Training Fellow has been created to be responsible for carrying out research on a core Crick funded project to study the biochemical and structural properties retroviral restriction factors that bind to, and block the replication of, retroviruses such as HIV-1. The post-holder is expected to work on a multidisciplinary project aimed at examining the structure and function of the retrovirus restriction factors Fv1, SAMHD1 and TRIM5α and their interaction with the viral capsid (see Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111, 9609-9614, Nature 480, 379-382, Nature 505, 234-238 and Cell Host&Microbe 17 489-499).

Objectives

Specific objectives will include, but not be limited to:

• The post-holder is expected to work on a multidisciplinary project aimed at examining the structure and function of the retrovirus restriction factors Fv1, SAMHD1 and TRIM5α.

• The post-holder will be expected to carry out independent research on a project that is focused on the structural and mechanistic characterisation of the restriction factors, Fv1, SAMHD1 and Trim5α. He/she will be responsible for developing biochemical and biophysical techniques, including X-ray crystallographic studies, to examine the mechanism of Fv1 and Trim5α mediated HIV-1 restriction and the interaction of Trim5α with the lentiviral capsid. This project will be carried in close collaboration with Dr Jonathan Stoye’s laboratory who are examining the cellular and virological aspects of SAMHD1 and Trim5α restriction.

Person Specification

The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values: Bold, Imaginative, Open, Dynamic and Collegial, in addition to the following:

Essential

• A PhD or near completion in biophysics or macromolecular X-ray crystallography
• Comprehensive skills in molecular biology, protein expression and purification
• Training in biophysical analysis of protein-protein and or protein-nucleic acid interactions
• The post-holder is expected to be highly creative and motivated, be able to independently but also interact well within a group, and keep detailed records of experiments. Post-holder is expected to be able to communicate well in English.

Desirable

• Good understanding of enzymology
• Basic understanding of retrovirus replication.
• Demonstration of scientific expertise and excellence by means of authorship (ideally first author) in peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognized scientific journals.
High motivation, creativity and ability to work independently and as part of a diverse group are esential for this position. Previous experience in the study of retroviruses would be an advantage. We are particularly looking for candidates with proven knowledge of structural biology, who wish to work on virus-host interactions.