PhD student in molecular and RNA biology

In the Structural Biology Group, we study the structure and function of proteins using structural biology methods such as protein crystallography and electron microscopy, bioinformatics analysis and molecular dynamics simulations, as well as by functional assays both in vitro and in cell culture. Our newest project funded by an OPUS grant from the National Science Centre, Poland regards the role of antiviral proteins from the IFIT family in immune cells, and will combine the use of molecular, cell and structural biology and RNA-based therapies.

We are looking for a PhD student to work in the OPUS project on the role of IFIT2 complexes in the immune regulation in macrophages. The project aims to discover post-transcriptional mechanisms that regulate expression of cytokines at the first contact of immune cells with a pathogen. Our findings may have an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases or acute inflammatory reactions such as the "cytokine storm" accompanying COVID-19 morbidity.

Work in the project will include:

• cloning, mutagenesis, DNA, RNA and protein purification and further manipulation using standard molecular techniques (e.g. PCR, qPCR, Western blot), protein-RNA interaction studies in vitro

• cell culture, protein-RNA interaction studies in cell culture, antiviral and cytokine response assays, construction and characterization of cell lines, eCLIP and RNA sequencing.