Back to search results

Research Fellow

University of Birmingham - College of Engineering and Physical Sciences - School of Chemistry

Location: Birmingham
Salary: £35,880 to £45,163 with potential progression once in post to £47,874. Grade 7
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract
Placed On: 21st November 2024
Closes: 12th December 2024
Job Ref: 104908

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £35,880 to £45,163 with potential progression once in post to £47,874

Grade: 7

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

We value your feedback on the quality of our adverts. If you have a comment to make about the overall quality of this advert, or its categorisation then please send us your feedback
Advert information

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):

Job tools
 

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Ok Ok

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Account Verification Missing

In order to create multiple job alerts, you must first verify your email address to complete your account creation

Request verification email Request verification email

jobs.ac.uk Account Required

In order to create multiple alerts, you must create a jobs.ac.uk jobseeker account

Create Account Create Account

Alert Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your account is currently blocked. Please login to unblock your account.

Email Address Blocked

We received a delivery failure message when attempting to send you an email and therefore your email address has been blocked. You will not receive job alerts until your email address is unblocked. To do so, please choose from one of the two options below.

Max Alerts Reached

A maximum of 5 Job Alerts can be created against your account. Please remove an existing alert in order to create this new Job Alert

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your alert was not created at this time. Please try again.

Ok Ok

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

 
 
More jobs from University of Birmingham

Show all jobs for this employer …

More jobs like this
Join in and follow us

Browser Upgrade Recommended

jobs.ac.uk has been optimised for the latest browsers.

For the best user experience, we recommend viewing jobs.ac.uk on one of the following:

Google Chrome Firefox Microsoft Edge