Research Fellow

Salary: As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7, salary £47,874

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to January 2027

This is a postdoctoral position in the group of Dr Peacock in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, on the design and development of metallo coiled coils for use in MRI.

This project will develop a new class of MRI contrast agents, based on designed metallo peptide/proteins. MRI is an essential tool for medical diagnosis and contrast agents play a crucial role in improving the images obtained, and hence patient outcomes. New and improved agents are needed that can mitigate the known risks of gadolinium toxicity associated with current MRI contrast agents.

Our previous work demonstrated that, when coordinated with gadolinium, miniature protein scaffolds achieve greater efficiency compared to clinical agents.[1] By redesigning the peptide components, we further enhanced this performance.[2] Recently, we made the unprecedented discovery that copper—a biologically essential metal previously overlooked in MRI contrast agent design—outperforms clinical agents when coordinated with these ligands.[3] This was once thought impossible! Copper presents an exciting alternative to toxic gadolinium.

We are hiring for two positions. This position will develop and experimentally validate, new miniature protein-inspired ligands, based on coiled coils, for use in MRI contrast agent design. This project will be well suited to someone who is excited about harnessing engineering biology and bioinorganic chemistry, to develop a novel technology for a real clinical application. Candidates must hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in Chemistry, Biophysics or related discipline, and ideally would have experience in metallo peptide/protein chemistry, peptide design, or MRI contrast agent design.

References:

[1] Berwick et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136, 1166

[2] Berwick et al, Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 2207

[3] Shah et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA., 2023, 120, e2219036120.

The School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham is a vibrant and thriving academic community, with over 100 academic and research staff, 20 professional services staff and over 600 students. We provide an inclusive and supportive environment where we strive to support every member of staff in realising their career potential. With a strong focus on our four Research Themes of Energy, Sustainability, Environment and Health, and a number of interdisciplinary Interest Groups serving as testbeds to explore new and emerging areas of interest, we are a dynamic place to work. We have ambitious plans to expand our research activity and are in an exciting period of growth: major investment from the University has delivered a state-of-the-art research building (opened 2024), and new multi-million pound high-performance computing facilities, which will ensure UK-leading compute capability. These investments build on a major recent expansion of our academic staff and investment in our teaching and learning provision, with our Collaborative Teaching Laboratory (opened 2018), already revolutionising how we teach undergraduate practical chemistry.

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Anna Peacock (a.f.a.peacock@bham.ac.uk)

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

Closes: 12/12/2024

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