PhD position scholarship in Molecular Cell Biology Group at Paul Scherrer Institute Switzerland

PhD position in Molecular Cell Biology Group at Paul Scherrer Institute Switzerland

The Paul Scherrer Institute is with 1400 employees the largest research centre for the natural and engineering sciences in Switzerland and a worldwide leading user laboratory. Its research activities are concentrated on the main topics structure of matter, energy and environmental research as well as human health.

The Molecular Cell Biology Group at the Laboratory of Biomolecular Research at PSI studies the biology of vascular endothelial growth factors, VEGFs, and their receptors in vessel development and homeostasis. Our focus is on structural aspects of receptor signaling using X-ray crystallography, single particle electron microscopy and small angle solution scattering (SAXS). Excellent infrastructure for these techniques is available at the Synchrotron Light Source (SLS) and at our in-house facilities at the Laboratory of Biomolecular Research.We are looking for a PhD StudentStructural and functional analysis of the activation mechanism of receptor tyrosine kinases of the VEGF and Angiopoietin receptor family

Your tasks
Generation of expression vectors for the production of receptor proteins in insect and mammalian cells; protein production and purification, generation and purification of receptor/ligand complexes
Biophysical characterization of protein complexes
Structural analysis of protein complexes by single particle electron microscopy to obtain a low resolution view of receptor/ligand structures
Refinement of structures by X-ray crystallography applied to individual protein domains
Complementary functional analysis of receptor complexes in endothelial cells

Your profile
The successful candidate is expected to have a background in either biology / biochemistry / biophysics / biotechnology, in particular in protein engineering and production, purification and characterization, or in structural analysis of biomolecules using either single particle electron microscopy or X-ray crystallography.
The candidate will work in the Group Molecular Cell Biology at Biomolecular Research and at the Synchrotron Light Source at PSI.
For further information please contact Prof. Dr Kurt Ballmer, phone +41 56 310 41 65.
Please submit your application online for the position as PhD Student (index no. 2312-01).
Paul Scherrer Institut, Human Resources, Sabine Mier, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland