Phd position in Chemical Biology Tools for Structure-Function Studies on Heparan Sulfate Glycans, University of Liverpool, UK

The heparin/heparan sulfate family of complex glycans are important cellular regulators of the activity of proteins, including growth factors and enzymes of therapeutic relevance. This project will develop and apply novel methods for exploring the structure-function relationships of these molecules. The aim will be to design and synthesise heparin/HS mimetics for testing in bioassays, along with the development of novel tools for understanding heparin-protein interactions and biology (including on-chip glycan synthesis using mass spectrometric reaction analysis and glycan molecular imaging probes). The student will receive training in advanced glycan analysis (including glycoarrays and mass spectrometry), glycan synthetic chemistry and bioassays.

This inter-disciplinary project will be carried out jointly between Liverpool and CIC biomaGUNE (a Bionanomaterials research institution in San Sebastain, northern Spain). The Spanish supervisors will be Prof Manuel Martin-Lomas and Dr Niels Reichardt. Applications are invited from students from residents of the UK and EU who are strongly motivated for research and discovery and either hold or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second class Honours or an equivalent degree (eg Masters level) in natural sciences or medicine.

Applications will be reviewed starting from 15 September.

Funding Notes:

Inter-disciplinary 4-year PhD studentships where the successful candidate will spend two years in Spain and two in Liverpool. This studentship is open to candidates from any European country, including Spain and the UK. The scholarship will cover the tuition fee and provide a tax-free salary of £14000 per annum.

References:

Zhi Z, Laurent N, Powell AK, Voglmeir J, Wright A, Karamanska R, Fais M, Blackburn J, Crocker PR, Russell D, Flitsch S, Field R. & Turnbull JE. (2008) A Versatile Gold Surface Approach for Fabrication and Interrogation of Glycoarrays. ChemBioChem 9, 1568-1575.

SE Guimond, TM Puvirajesinghe, M Skidmore, I Kalus, T Dierks, EA Yates and JE Turnbull. (2009) Rapid purification and high sensitivity analysis of heparan sulfate from cells and tissues: towards glycomics profiling. J Biol Chem. 284, 25714-25722. Paper of Week & Cover image.

AK Powell, YA Ahmed, Yates EA & JE Turnbull (2010) Generating heparan sulfate saccharide libraries for glycomics applications. Nature Protocols 5, 829-841 (2010)

Construction of N-Glycan Microarrays by Using Modular Synthesis and On-Chip Nanoscale Enzymatic Glycosylation. Serna S., Etxebarria J., Ruiz N., Martin-Lomas M. and Reichardt N.C.; Chem. Eur. J. 16, 13163 - 13175 (2010).

A New Linker for Solid-Phase Synthesis of Heparan Sulfate Precursors by Sequential Assembly of Monosaccharide Building Blocks. Czechura P., Guedes N., Kopitzki S., Vazquez N., Martin-Lomas M. and Reichardt N.C.; Chem. Commun. 47, 8 2390 - 2392 (2011).

Application Deadline:15 December 2011

PhD Supervisor:Prof J E Turnbull
Co-Supervisor:Dr E A Yates


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