[3dem] PhD studentship

[Peijun Zhang]

Dear all,
A PhD studentship is available in Prof Peijun Zhang's group at Oxford University, in collaboration with Joana Sousa at UCB Pharma, for the structural investigation of AAV (adeno-associated virus) by cryoEM and its intracellular trafficking using in situ cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET).

Recombinant AAV has emerged as a leading delivery vector for gene therapy.  However, to achieve greater therapeutic efficacy, high doses are often required, which increase the risk of serious adverse events. To develop better AAV vectors that are more efficient at delivering their therapeutic payload, a deeper understanding of the cellular barriers that impede successful cell transduction is needed.

We are seeking a highly motivated student to carry on this study. The successful candidate will use cryo-FIB, cryo-ET and CLEM techniques to characterise AAVs and their cellular infection processes. The student will be primarily based at Oxford University but will also spend time at UCB Pharma in the UK. The project covers techniques in molecular, cellular and structural biology, including AAV production and infection, biochemical/biophysical characterization, cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging, cryo-FIB/SEM and in situ structural biology.

We are located in the Division of Structural Biology within the Nuffield Department of Medicine (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.strubi.ox.ac.uk/research/professor-peijun-zhang__;!!Mih3wA!H5Fwa1nNxNRTe5bVVdTkTWS4UmnJxoxIoAF8YySg0J-sm-g3_62IsDL6cu2jruqNKaP-79V-dH0-YZ722Oyb044v7U05lwDG$ ), which provides an ideal environment for multidisciplinary and integrative studies. We also have access to eBIC and Diamond Light Source for data collection (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/Biological-Cryo-Imaging/eBIC.html__;!!Mih3wA!H5Fwa1nNxNRTe5bVVdTkTWS4UmnJxoxIoAF8YySg0J-sm-g3_62IsDL6cu2jruqNKaP-79V-dH0-YZ722Oyb044v7Sm7AI1g$ ).

UCB is a global biopharma company focused on creating valuable solutions that make improvements to the lives of people living with neurological and autoimmune conditions. For further information please visit https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ucb.com/__;!!Mih3wA!H5Fwa1nNxNRTe5bVVdTkTWS4UmnJxoxIoAF8YySg0J-sm-g3_62IsDL6cu2jruqNKaP-79V-dH0-YZ722Oyb044v7fcxsYWj$ .

For further inquiries, please contact Peijun Zhang (peijun.zhang at strubi.ox.ac.uk<mailto:peijun.zhang at strubi.ox.ac.uk>).
Best,
Peijun

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20241111/4e6e62f8/attachment.html>