PhD Studentship: Using molecular simulations to understand the structure -function relationships of

The development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a major problem for modern healthcare. A recent World Health Organization report stated: “resistance to common bacteria has reached alarming levels in many parts of the world and that in some settings, few, if any, of the available treatment options remain effective for common infections”. In other words the number of antibiotics that are still effective is quickly diminishing- new antibiotics are therefore urgently needed.

To develop strategies to combat bacteria we must first understand how they protect themselves. The outermost protective barrier that separates the interior of bacteria from the outside world is the membrane or in the case of Gram-negative bacteria; membranes. But what is the chemical composition of these membranes? How do the components interact with each other? How do they keep harmful materials out?

The answers to these questions are surprisingly, still elusive. In this project we aim to study large models of bacterial membranes. Large enough that the SAME composition of membrane can be studied experimentally by our colleagues- thus we can directly compare our results with experiments. To do so will require that we work with multiscale models and also write code for efficient analysis of such large and complex systems. We will use both the supercomputer at Southampton (Iridis4 and 5) and also ARCHER, the national supercomputer

We are looking for an applicant with a background in biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry physics, mathematics, or computer science, and an appetite to learn and research across conventional discipline boundaries. 

The stipend is at the standard EPSRC levels. More details on facilities and computing equipment are available  http://ngcm.soton.ac.uk/facilities.html

1 https://symakhalidresearchgroup.wordpress.com

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Syma Khalid, Email: S.Khalid@soton.ac.uk

This project is run through participation in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Computational Modelling (http://ngcm.soton.ac.uk). For details of our 4 Year PhD programme, please see http://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=331&LID=2652 

For a details of available projects click here http://www.ngcm.soton.ac.uk/projects/index.html