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Research Associate

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Closing date
Jun 22, 2017

Job Details

Applications are invited for a 4 year fixed term post-doctoral research position based in the laboratories of Prof Per Bullough (sheffield.ac.uk/mbb/staff/perbullough) and Dr. Robert Fagan (sheffield.ac.uk/mbb/staff/robertfagan), and funded by the BBSRC. This project aims to characterise the structure and interactions of the essential Clostridium difficile S-layer with an innovative new type of therapeutic (Acidocin-CD) that targets the S-layer to kill this important nosocomial pathogen. The main structural technique will be cryo-electron microscopy. C. difficile is the most frequent cause of hospital acquired infection across Europe. This highly antibiotic resistant pathogen relies on antibiotic-mediated disruption of the gut microbiota in order to cause disease. There is an urgent clinical need for species-specific antimicrobials that kill C. difficile without further disruption to the gut microbiota. Avidocin-CDs are a promising new type of precision antimicrobial based on naturally occurring phage tail-like particles that efficiently kill C. difficile without collateral damage to the microbiota. The C. difficile cell is coated by a crystalline protein surface layer (S-layer) that mediates contact between the bacterium and its host and environment. This essential surface structure is the bacterial receptor for Avidocin-CDs. With the tools that we have developed over the last few years we are now in a unique position to study the structure of the S-layer, both alone and in complex with a prototypic Avidocin-CD. The successful candidate will join our multi-disciplinary BBSRC-funded collaborative project. The ideal candidate for this post will have a PhD in molecular bioscience (or equivalent experience) and extensive experience of structural biology, ideally including cryo-electron microscopy.

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Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

"The globalisation of higher education continues apace, driving in turn the ongoing development of the global knowledge economy, striving for solutions to the world’s problems and educating a next generation of leaders and contributors."

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