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Postdoctoral fellow recruitments UCMR
Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR; www.ucmr.se) was recently awarded a Linnaeus Grant for research on infectious diseases and UCMR affiliated group leaders are now recruiting postdoctoral fellows and hereby advertise two-year fellowships in 3 different research projects that are described below.
Union information is available from SACO, +46-(0)90-786 53 65, SEKO
civil, +46-(0)90-786 52 96 and ST, +46-(0)90-786 54 31.
Successful candidates should have earned a PhD degree in fields relevant for the positions. A complete application should include:
- Introductory letter with a statement of research interest
- CV
- A list of publications
- Names and contact details of two persons willing to act as references
Your application should be marked with the appropriate Ref no for the postdoc position. If you apply to several fellowships you have to send an application for each position. Documents sent electronically should be in MS Word or PDF format.
Your complete application (state the reference number as subject, when you submit the electronic application), should be sent to the Registrar, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden; e-mail address: jobb@umu.se, to arrive no later than 13 February, 2009.
We
look forward receiving your application!
Design and synthesis of inhibitors of type III protein secretion in Gramnegative bacteria, Ref 315-27-09
Further information: Mikael Elofosson, mikael.elofsson@chem.umu.se
In the proposed research program we will identify and develop novel small organic molecules that target bacterial virulence i.e. the ability of bacteria to cause disease. Research on bacterial virulence is of great importance both for basic science on poorly understood virulence systems and applied research aimed at development of antibacterial drugs with new modes of action. Specifically we apply a screening-based approach to identify synthetic and natural product inhibitors of type III secretion (T3S) in Gram-negative bacteria. The type III secretion (T3S) system is a highly conserved virulence system present in numerous species of Gram-negative bacteria causing a plethora of clinically important diseases e.g. Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, Chlamydia spp. that cause sexually transmitted diseases and respiratory infections, and Salmonella spp. that inflict a broad range of gastrointestinal infections. The T3S system in Yersinia is relatively well understood and therefore serves as an excellent model system in our chemical approach to study T3S. Importantly, the T3S systems in different pathogens are interchangeable and data generated with the Yersinia T3S system is therefore likely to be valid also for other T3S utilizing bacteria. Compounds that perturb the Yersinia T3S by inhibition have been identified from chemical libraries utilizing cell-based assays, and promising candidates are currently being optimized by iterative cycles of design, synthesis, evaluation, and computation of quantitative structure-activity relationships. In addition a key project is to identify the target proteins for each compound class in order to reveal the exact mode of action at the molecular level. The T3S inhibitors are employed in various in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo experiments with the aim to increase our understanding of bacterial virulence. T3S inhibitors have potential both as molecular probes for functional studies and as chemical starting points for development of therapeutic agents. Antibacterial agents with novel modes of action will greatly aid the fight against bacteria resistant to antibiotics and prolong the time period to appearance of new resistance.
The specific project includes synthesis of natural and synthetic inhibitors of T3S. A suitable candidate has a PhD in organic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry with a strong track record in synthesis and characterization of small organic molecules and/or natural products.
Regulation and role of Type VI secretion system components in Vibrio cholerae, Ref 315-25-09
Further information: Sun Nyunt Wai, E-mail: sun.nyunt.wai@molbiol.umu.se
Recent studies of many different Gram-negative bacteria species have led to the identification of a new type of protein secretion system, named Type VI Secretion System (T6SS). It is now clear that many pathogenic bacteria known to manipulate host-cell physiologies are equipped with T6SS. This recently discovered secretion apparatus delivers macromolecules designed to subvert host cell defenses and thereby facilitates bacterial survival and propagation in the environment of the eukaryotic host. This may involve alteration of crucial host-cell functions such as signaling cascades, inflammatory responses, The postdoc recruitment is aimed at studies of the role of quorum sensing regulatory factors in expression of the T6SS secreted protein Hcp and at characterization of the molecular mechanisms controlling induction of secretion in serotype O1 strains and in non-O1 non-O139 strains of Vibrio cholerae.
The work will be performed in close collaboration with other research groups within the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) Linnaeus Program. High-Throughput-Screening (HTS) will be used to identify compounds that affect the induction or function of the T6SS. The chemical biology approach will be initiated together with the HTS facility at Umeå University. The intended postdoc recruitment would be a molecular biologist that should have documented competence and qualifications to perform molecular microbiology studies and relevant experience for research work with the pathogenic bacterial strains of V. cholerae.
Contact: Dr. Sun Nyunt Wai, MD PhD, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: sun.nyunt.wai@molbiol.umu.se
For further information about our research visit the home pages of our research group www.molbiol.umu.se and of the UCMR www.ucmr.se.
Elucidation of the nature of the Yop secretion signal of the TypeIII secretion system of Yersinia,
Ref 315-26-09
Further information: Hans Wolf-Watz,
Email: hans.wolf-watz@molbiol.umu.se
We are looking for a protein biochemist with well documented background in protein purification and protein interaction studies. It is required that the applicant has published at least two first author papers in highly ranked Journals.
We are interested in the actual mechanism by which protein substrates-Yops are secreted by the Type III secretion system of Yersinia. Recent studies from our group and other groups have shown that the specific secretion signal is located in the absolute N-terminal end of the substrates. Remarkably, although we have all information regarding, DNA, RNA and protein sequences we have no good understanding which signals that are governing secretion. The aim with the present project is to take a biochemical approach to attack this question i.e. try to identify proteins that specifically interacts with the signal-sequence of these T3SS substrates.
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