Postdoctoral Researcher

Birkbeck, University of London is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join a new, multidisciplinary research project on a full-time, 24 month contract this year.

Joining the School of Natural Sciences, you will be involved in constructing a first complete atomic model and conducting large-scale Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of the yeast kinetochore-microtubule complex, supported by recent structural and in vivo work from Barford lab (MRC-LMB, Cambridge) and Tanaka lab (University of Dundee).

You will elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tension-dependent stabilisation, phosphoregulation, and force transduction of kinetochore-microtubule attachments in mitotic cell division.

This work presents unique opportunities to dissect the molecular and biomechanical basis of diseases linked to chromosome mis-segregation.

The research will integrate all-atom/coarse-grained MD and structure modelling and refinement with cryo-electron microscopy, optical trap experiments, and in vivo cross-linking assays.

You will be a member of a new computational biophysics team working on understanding biological relationships between kinetochore structure, dynamics, and function led by Dr Maxim Igaev at Birkbeck, and will interact with other members of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB).

The research programme also involves interactions with collaborators (Cambridge and Dundee) and international partners (Theoretical & Computational Biophysics Group, MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Germany), and is funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society.

This opportunity would build on PhD or postdoctoral research experience in theoretical/computational physics, molecular biophysics, computational biology, computational chemistry, computer science, or related areas.

The successful role holder will have a PhD in these or a similar area.