WE ARE HIRING!!! We are looking for two postdoctoral researchers: a biologist and a computational chemist/biophysicist to join us reaching the goal of our new AIRC project. Please see below for further details on each position.
UPCOMING OPENINGS:
We also welcome perspective applicants, especially qualified perspective applicants willing to apply for their own funding. Interesting opportunities include: AIRC EMBO and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships (please check the links for the relevant deadlines).
OPEN – Postdoc position in structural biology/biology/biochemistry applied to nanomedicine
The “Self-Assembly, Recognition, and Applications” (SARA) research team at the University of Trieste, Italy, invites applications for a senior Postdoc position in structural biology/biology/biochemistry applied to nanomedicine.
The project will primarily involve the expression and characterization of a new set of antibody fragments computationally designed to capture with high affinity protein biomarkers.The ideal candidate should hold a PhD or equivalent with expertise in protein cloning, production, labelling pull-down, cell culture immunotechniques (IF, WB, ELISA, FACS) and expertise in protein technology, protein purification. Some knowledge on crystallization, x-ray diffraction data collection and analysis is welcome. Competences in multiple techniques, interest in learning the ones she/he is not familiar with, and a high level of independence are an asset. Interest in working in a multidisciplinary environment and fluency in written/spoken English are mandatory.
The SARA research team is part of a multidisciplinary collaborative network composed by biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers working towards speeding up the development of novel clinical protocols and new diagnostic devices by integrating computational and experimental techniques for the design of new nanotechnology solutions of problems of medical interest.
The new hire will work in the team led by Paola Storici, head of the Protein Production Facility of Elettra (Trieste, Italy).
OPEN – Postdoc positions in computational biophysics applied to nanomedicine
The “Self-Assembly, Recognition, and Applications” (SARA) research team at the University of Trieste, Italy, invites applications for a junior Postdoc position in computational biophysics applied to nanomedicine.
The project will primarily involve the use and development of Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo based methods to introduce and develop novel strategies for the design and optimisation of antibody fragments. The ideal candidate is expected to have a strong motivation in applying those computational techniques to problems of medical interest, while their prior knowledge is preferable but not mandatory. A PhD in Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Biology, or Medicine are required, as well as the knowledge of a programming and/or scripting language.
The SARA research team is part of a multidisciplinary collaborative network composed by biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers working towards speeding up the development of novel clinical protocols and new diagnostic devices by integrating computational and experimental techniques for the design of new nanotechnology solutions of problems of medical interest.
For further information and application inquiries feel free to contact:
FOR PERSPECTIVE APPLICANTS
MSc/BSc Projects (Progetti per Tesi di Laurea)We consider perspective students willing to work on either computational or experimental aspects of the projects below. If interested to discuss the available options, read below, and then feel free to write me an email s.fortuna@units.it (Sara Fortuna). Animal free antibody discovery for cancer research. An increasing number of applications in medicine and biology requires the availability of specific antibodies. These are traditionally developed by in vitro or in vivo methods. We chose another route: instead of relying on animal immunisation, we either take advantage of synthetic libraries and computational characterisation or of computational design followed by in vitro characterisarion. Your project can explore any aspect of the process. By joining this project you will contribute in reducing the use of animals in biological and medical research by supporting the development of novel protocols for the optimisation of antibody fragments to be then used in cancer research. This activity, by being the result of a synergistic collaboration with Ario de Marco (University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia), could have the possibility to be supported by an Erasmus fellowship. Effect of point mutations in pediatric diseases. This is a computational project aiming to support medical doctors in the characterization of protein mutations responsible for pediatric neurological disorders. You will learn homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation techniques and compare a set of mutants to the wilde-type protein attempting to understand how each mutation can affect its functioning. For more information on the general topic please read the press release of our recent joint work (in Italian). |
PhD ProjectsNo openings at the moment. Highly motivated perspective applicants interested in computational techniques and/or programming can visit our Research page and, if intrigued in any of the computational aspects of our research, write me an email s.fortuna@units.it (Sara Fortuna). |
Postdoctoral ProjectsWe look either for experienced post-docs skilled in relevant experimental techniques or computationals at any level of experience interested in joining our efforts in the ex-novo development of effective nanodevices for personalised medicine. Perspective applicants can read below and then write me an email s.fortuna@units.it (Sara Fortuna). The fundamental research in nanomedicine requires indeed the cooperation of scientists with a multitude of backgrounds including physics, chemistry, computer science, biology, and engineering. The pipeline we devised, based on in silico design and experimental validation in wet lab, allows to design binders selective for specific epitopes of chosen proteins. These papers can give you an overview on the diverse skill-sets we are looking for (willingness to collaborate and learn new techniques is key to succeed in our team):
If you are a non-local perspective applicant, you might also wish to get some practical information from our welcome office (please note that Trieste is part of the Friuli Venezia Giulia – FVG – region), or some tourist information about what Triese and FVG have to offer. |