PhD Studentship: Mechanistic insights into Family B G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) using SMA-like polymers

There is an opportunity for a highly-motivated PhD candidate to join our interdisciplinary team to investigate G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

GPCRs are the therapeutic target for ~40% of clinically-prescribed drugs and are of critical inter-est to the pharmaceutical industry with respect to future drug discovery. They also form the larg-est family of membrane proteins in the human genome, so understanding their structure & func-tion at the molecular level is of fundamental importance.

This project will focus on the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) family of GPCRs, which are potential therapeutic targets for a range of diseases including migraine, neuro-inflammation, heart failure and cancer. The CLR family of GPCRs is unusual as CLR has an obligation to bind to one of three receptor-activity modifying proteins (RAMPs) to form a functional receptor. This is a multi-disciplinary project that benefits from our expertise in a wide range of cutting-edge techniques from the research fields of molecular pharmacology, protein engineering, fluorescence (including bioluminescence resonance energy transfer) and purification of receptors encapsulated nano-scale discs of plasma membrane stabilised by styrene maleic acid (SMA)-like polymers (SMALPs) which preserve the native lipid bilayer environment of the GPCR. These diverse approaches will be employed to investigate the structure and function of the CLR family to gain insights into their fundamental molecular mechanisms.

Institutional profiles

Our labs within the Research Centre for Health & Life Sciences (CHLS) at Coventry University are modern and very well equipped. In REF2021, 93% of our Allied to Health research at Coventry University was ranked as ‘World leading’ or ‘Internationally Excellent’, as was 100% of our Re-search Environment. Furthermore, PhD student training in CHLS was awarded prestigious accreditation from the Royal Society of Biology, the first university in the UK to hold this accolade.

The successful applicant will be joining an active research team, working in a well-equipped lab in a light modern building. This project will provide the appointed PhD student with a broad skill-base and expertise relevant to a future career in either academia or the pharmaceutical industry.

Entry criteria for applicants to PhD

• A bachelor’s (honours) degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum classification of 2:1 and a minimum mark of 60% in the project element (or equivalent), or an equivalent award from an overseas institution. 

PLUS

• the potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within 3.5 years

• An adequate proficiency in English must be demonstrated by applicants whose first language is not English. The general requirement is a minimum overall IELTS Academic score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the four sections, or the TOEFL iBT test with a minimum overall score of 95 with a minimum of 21 in each of the four sections.

For further details please visit: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-opportunities/research-students/making-an-application/research-entry-criteria/

https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-opportunities/research-students/making-an-application/

Please contact Dr. Hoor Ayub for informal enquiries (hoor.ayub@coventry.ac.uk)

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