PhD Positions in Chemical, Structural, Computational and Cell Biology

Highlights:

1.      A number of studentships are available on the BBSRC 4-year PhD Interdisciplinary Programme in Chemical, Structural, Computational and Cell Biology, for entry in September 2010. The programme is run jointly by the ISMB at Birkbeck and UCL.

2.      The first year of the programme will provide both training in the principals of biological sciences at the ISMB, and the opportunity to begin your own research. The student carries out two 4-month rotations, one with their PhD project leader, and the other with a collaborating scientist in a complementary field. These rotations will provide you with the interdisciplinary and technical expertise to develop your PhD project.

3.      The student also receives training from leading experts on elements of Structural, Computational, Cell and Chemical Biology and tuition in the skills needed to be an effective research scientist, including presentation skills, how to read and write a scientific paper and time management.

4.      Years 2-4 of the programme are devoted to the PhD research project. You will give annual presentations to report on your progress and will have other opportunities to present your latest findings.

5.      Candidates should have a first class or 2:1 MSci in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Computer Science, or any relevant area of the biological or physical sciences.

6.      For further details of the programme, student eligibility and all details of the application procedure please visit the programme website:  http://www.ismb.lon.ac.uk/bbsrc_studentships.html

7.      Applications for entry in September 2010 must be received by 5 pm on Friday 19th February 2010.

8.      Informal enquiries can be made to the Academic Coordinator, Dr Carolyn Moores (c.moores@mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk)

Postdoctoral position in Natural products/ Chemistry

Highlights: 

1. Applications are invited for a post doctoral position in the group of Dr. Vibha Bansal in the Department of Chemistry at University of Puerto Rico in Cayey (Undergraduate College).
2. The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in the area of natural products chemistry.
3. The position is available for one year beginning June 1, 2010 and it may be renewed based on progress toward research goals and availability of funds. 
4. The candidate is expected to establish a project in the area of natural products in the laboratory.
5. The project involves identifying medicinal plants and preparing their extracts to screen them for presence of protease inhibitors.
6. The screening will involve use of bioassay.
7. The ability to solve problems independently and experience in the areas of organic solvent extractions, modern chromatographic techniques, Mass/NMR Spectroscopy, LC-MS, and structure determination are required.
8. Additional experience in protein separation and characterization will be favorable.
9. Job responsibilities will also include training and supervising undergraduate students in the research laboratory. 
10. The interested candidate should have a Ph.D. or have submitted the thesis prior to taking up the position.
11. Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and names and contact information (e-mail, phone number, postal address) of three professional references by e-mail to vibha.bansal@upr.edu.
12. Any further enquiries can also be sent to the same address. Univ of Puerto Rico at Cayey, PR, USA 

Postdoctoral position/PhD position on Imaging Genetics in cognition

Highlights:

1. A 3 years research position to identify genes implicated in brain imaging traits is available in the group of Dr Stéphanie Le Hellard (University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital).
2. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the BETULA project group at the University of Umeå University, Sweden (Profs Lars Nyberg and Lars Göran Nilsson).
3. The candidate will be in charge of the analysis of a whole genome association scan (GWAS) performed in a sample of individuals phenotyped for cognitive and brain imaging traits. The initial findings will be replicated in independent samples.
4. The successful candidate should have knowledge and/or experience in human genetics, in statistical genetics, in brain imaging, in handling large sets of data using packages such as GenABEL, PLINK or R, and be fluent in english.
5. The research environment is highly suitable for the execution of this project with expertise in both large-scale genetic studies in Bergen and large-scale collection of imaging datasets in Umeå.
6. The research position could be attributed to either a PhD candidate or a postdoc depending on the most suitable candidate for the position. 

Postdoctoral position in Quantum chemistry

Highlights:

1.      A postdoc fellowship is offered in the field of quantum chemistry in the Institute of Chemistry, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

2.      The main goal of the project is to study photochemical reactions proceeding via conical intersections. Work will involve localization and characterization of conical intersections (CI), quantum chemistry calculations of potential energy surfaces (PES) and their couplings as well as quantum dynamics simulations and control of the resulting reactions.

3.      The cooperation also serves for training of the PhD students in our complementary fields of expertise.

4.      Candidates should have a strong background in quantum chemistry and computational methods. Work will involve high level quantum chemical calculations using methods such as CASSCF, MRCI and etc. Calculations will be on gas phase molecules as well as on solvated ones.

5.      Please send your applications to:
Prof. Shmuel Zilberg
Department of Physical Chemistry,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Tel: 972-2-6585848
Fax: 972-2-5618033
e-mail: shmuel@fh.huji.ac.il

6.      The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904 Israel.

PhD position in Fruit bioactivity and bioefficacy

Highlights:

1. Epidemiological studies have consistently shown an association between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and a reduced risk of human diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Accordingly, there has been a focus on identifying components of fruit and vegetables responsible for the beneficial effects against a host of degenerative diseases.
2.  Soft fruit species have been a specific focus due to their diverse polyphenol contents and composition. However, this work has generally been piecemeal and the transfer between in vitro to in vivo health studies often utilizing variable germplasm negating cross-comparability between the scales of efficacy. As part of the EU project, ClimaFruit, which aims to look at the impact of climate change scenarios on soft fruit production and quality, including putative health beneficial components, the student will employ intervention through to cellular model studies to establish soft fruit polyphenol human health efficacy and establish their metabolic fate and mechanisms of action. In conjunction with the two project post doctoral researchers the student will phytochemically characterize the project target fruit (raspberry, blackcurrant and blackberry) and determine the impact of (in vitro) digestion on phytochemical diversity and bioavailability.