Research Assistant (fixed-term)

About the role

An exciting opportunity is available for an outstanding research assistant to investigate the molecular mechanisms of action of the TRPM8 ion channel in the context of a Human Frontier Science Program award:’ Understanding the molecular basis of animal cold thermosensation’ 

In this project, we would like to explore the molecular mechanisms by which animals sense changes of cold temperature triggering many different physiological responses. Analysis of genes coding for thermosensitive proteins from species adapted over millions of years to different thermal environments will be performed, among which will be extinct woolly mammoths and their living relatives, the Asian elephants. Genomic and functional studies will be complemented with advanced structural analysis to obtain atomic level structures of these proteins. We hypothesise that the thermal sensitivity of unique thermoreceptors will be very different according to the preferred thermal environment of each species.

The expected outcomes include improved descriptions of fundamental mechanisms of potassium channel function and how these proteins respond to physiological and/or pharmacological stimuli. 

This role is offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) with an expected date of 30/09/2025.

About you 

• Hold a degree in Chemistry, Bioengineering, Biological Sciences or a closely related discipline provided the applicant has a relevant research background.
• A research background in computation in biophysics, bioengineering condensed matter physics or physical chemistry.
• Background in data analysis, with expertise in multiscale modelling in areas related to ion channels and specially in simulation of membranes currents and propagation of membrane potentials.
• Experience in atomistic simulations of membrane protein systems. A strong preference will be given to applicants with experience in simulations of ion channels.
• Experience in statistical mechanical theory and molecular dynamics simulations for biophysical problems using existing packages. Preference will be given to those with experience in NAMD/VMD and GROMACS.
• Possess strong skills in supercomputing using both CPUs and GPUs, programming/scripting in a Unix environment, MD scripting for advanced simulations and analysis, as well as good molecular visualisation skills.

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