PhD Studentship: Electrochemically Programmable Biochemical Networks for Animate Materials

Life’s biological materials are animate, capable of adapting to their surroundings by actively changing in response to the environment. A key distinguishing feature of animate materials is their ability to autonomously make decisions about how to respond to stimuli. An example is your skin: on cold days, the hairs rise to trap warm air without conscious thought. The ability of living materials to make decisions arises from biochemical reaction networks (e.g., protein signaling) in the material. These networks process environmental information and decide how to adapt the material. Artificial animate materials promise to be superior for many applications (e.g., soft robots, MedTech) compared to inert counterparts, as their decision-making abilities enable them to leverage advantageous events into better outcomes and limit damage from disadvantageous ones. However, there is currently no well-established route to fabricate artificial animate materials. 

This fully funded 4-year PhD position will start in September with the aim of developing new artificial animate materials capable of making decisions about their behaviour in response to stimuli.

You will create novel chemical reaction networks out of redox-sensitive proteins and organic molecules that will make decisions in response to electrochemical signals. You will achieve this via combining detailed kinetic studies of enzymatic and organic reactions with modelling to identify the location and scope of the targeted decision-making behaviour. You will demonstrate the full networks under out-of-equilibrium conditions. You will then integrate the networks into hydrogels to create actuators which autonomously make decisions about their movement. 

We are looking for candidates who are passionate about chemistry and developing their skills and capabilities. Candidates should have or expect to receive a first or upper second (2.1) Master's degree (or equivalent) in chemistry or a related discipline. A successful applicant will have an independent and diligent work ethic with a keen interest in the project. Familiarity with areas such as reaction kinetics, enzyme/protein chemistry, electrochemistry, hydrogels and organic synthesis would be a strong advantage (note, you are not expected to be familiar with all these areas). 

The successful candidate will learn and receive training in a multidisciplinary set of practical skills including reaction kinetics, enzymatic chemistry, analytical techniques (e.g. NMR / fluorescence / UVVis spectroscopy and HPLC), organic synthesis, electrochemistry, hydrogel soft matter and modelling. Dr. Maguire will mentor students and you will learn how to design and manage projects, how to conduct research, how to give impactful presentations, how to write scientific papers and how to effectively collaborate with others to deliver ambitious goals. The support of the European Research Council will enable you to attend international conferences to present your work and network with scientists from across the globe. At the end of your PhD, you will be an accomplished and highly-capable scientist and ready to confidently progress your career, be that in academia, industry or the public sector. 

Interested candidates should contact Dr. Maguire for informal enquires at o.r.maguire@bham.ac.uk; please include a CV and a covering letter outlining your research interests and why you are interested in the role. There is no closing date but please apply ASAP as the position will be filled when the right candidate is found. The School of Chemistry is keen to achieve a gender and diversity balance across the School and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.  

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