Research Fellow

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 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.

This is a postdoctoral position in the group of Dr Peacock in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, working in collaboration with the group of Prof. Gustav Oberdorfer at Graz University of Technology, Austria, on the design and development of metallo coiled coils for use in MRI.

This position will focus on the computational design of metallo proteins and coiled coils, for use in MRI contrast agent design. The successful candidate will be employed by the University of Birmingham, but will spend the first year of the project visiting the group of Prof. Gustav Oberdorfer at Graz University of Technology, Austria. Years 2 and 3 will be based at the University of Birmingham. 

This project will be well suited to someone who is excited about harnessing engineering biology and computational protein design, 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 have experience in computational protein design. Experience in metallo peptides/protein chemistry, or MRI, is desirable but not essential.

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.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews *
• Analyse and interpret data 

Person Specification

• Candidates must have a PhD in Chemistry (or one near to completion), Biophysics or related discipline. 
• Candidates should have experience in computational protein design. Experience in metallo peptides/proteins, or MRI, is desirable but not essential. 
• High level analytical capability

Informal enquires to Dr Anna Peacock, email: 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^th December 2024

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