Research Fellow in Structural Biology/Virology

Available from 1 August 2016

Project Title: Structure and function of the essential M2-1 protein of human respiratory syncytial virus

We are seeking a highly motivated research fellow in structural biology of RNA viruses. Our laboratories are interested in understanding the structural and cellular biology of a variety of negative strand RNA viruses. One of these is human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), which is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness in young children and the immunocompromised, and has been linked to adult asthma. We recently determined the first X-ray crystal structure of the HRSV M2-1 protein, which is an essential transcriptional anti-terminator (Tanner et al., PNAS, 2014). The current project seeks to further understand the essential role of M2-1 in viral mRNA transcription, and will involve X-ray crystallography, cryo electron microscopy and cell biological approaches using live recombinant virus and genome analog analysis.

You should have a PhD (or be close to completion) in Structural Molecular Biology or a closely allied discipline, together with experience of protein structure solution using X-ray crystallography. Experience working with viruses in mammalian cell culture and/or EM is highly desirable.

Informal enquiries may be made to either Dr John N. Barr, tel +44 (0)113 3438069, email j.n.barr@leeds.ac.uk  or Dr Thomas Edwards, tel +44 (0) 113 3433031, email T.A.Edwards@leeds.ac.uk

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