A two year post-doctoral position is available at Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, in the study of the structure of proteins and their molecular interaction with RNA.
Successful candidate will use principally liquid-state NMR and also Molecular docking and “in cell NMR“. He/she will join the group of N. Izadi-Pruneyre in the M. Nilges lab.
Requirements:
Applicants are expected to have a PhD in liquid-state NMR spectroscopy. Experience in protein purification or in docking will be considered as a plus.
Project:
Chagas disease caused by Trypanosomatids is a neglected tropical disease that still remains major world health problems. Originally from Latin America, Chagas has become a worldwide problem and is increasingly detected in the USA, Canada and in many European countries. There is no vaccine, the treatment is long and expensive, and resistant strains have been reported by WHO. There is therefore an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies. Trypanosomatids present key differences in translation factors composition and interaction pattern that allow for targeting of the protein synthesis machinery without affecting the host.
In this project we will determine by X-ray and NMR the structure of several proteins of the translation initiation machinery and study by NMR their molecular interactions with their partner (protein/RNA). A docking approach will then be used to obtain the structure of multi-partners complexes that cannot be solved by using NMR (too large) or X-ray (too flexible). An in cell NMR strategy will also be used to further exploit the potential of this machinery for drug development. The project is in collaboration with the teams of S. Pochet (chemical synthesis of ligands, IP-Paris), B. Guimarães (X-ray, Institut Pasteur-Fiocruz, Brasil) and N. Zanchin (Biological assays with pathogenic Trypanosomatids, Institut Pasteur-Fiocruz, Brasil).
Scientific environment:
Our laboratory is equipped by several Akta chromatography systems with a complete set of chromatography columns for protein purification, and UV-vis, fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy (500, 600 and 800 MHz). Our team has access to to state-of-the art facilities in the field of protein expression, biophysics of molecular interaction (ITC, SPR,…), proteomics. We have also access, via the nanoimaging facility to the Titan Krios microscope recently installed at our Institute.
Institut Pasteur is located in the center of Paris (28, rue du Dr Roux, 2,5 km from the Eiffel Tower). This multidisciplinary institute is recognized worldwide as a leader in infectious diseases research and is ranked as a top-level institution for publication impact in different fields of biology. Founded over a century ago, the institute of today stands at the forefront of biomedical research and a total of 10 Nobel prizes having been accorded to its scientists. It hosts more than 130 research groups organized in 12 scientific departments, and around 20 technical core facilities. In the Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry (DBSC), we study complex biological systems through a range of integrated approaches (Structural Biology, Synthetic Chemistry and biochemistry).
Application: Interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae and the contact information for two referees to nadia.izadi@pasteur.fr