Missions

The candidate will study the structural dynamics of bacterial leucyl-tRNA synthetases by solution NMR spectroscopy and how their conformational energy landscape is modulated by tRNA binding and small molecule inhibitors.

Activities

- Expression and purification of proteins for structural and biophysical analyses, including isotopically labeled protein for NMR spectroscopy
- Ligand screening using saturation transfer difference NMR and 1H relaxation dispersion
- NMR exchange techniques to study protein conformational dynamics
- Production of tRNA for interaction studies

Skills

The ideal candidate holds a PhD in chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics or structural biology (or related discipline) and has experience in protein expression and purification as well as a proven track-record in solution NMR spectroscopy and data analysis. Experience with methyl-specific isotope labelling, NMR exchange experiments (CEST, CPMG) and/or ligand screening by NMR would be an advantage. A B1 level of English is required.

Work Context

Located on the Grenoble Science Park (ESRF/ILL/EMBL/IBS), the Institute of Structural Biology (IBS) is a national and international player in the field of integrated structural biology. The IBS is a research center, a technical platform, a host site and a scientific training center. Its mission is to develop research in structural biology, a field of research that is crucial to the understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms. It is supported by 12 state-of-the-art platforms.
As a joint research unit (CEA-CNRS-UGA), the IBS is composed of 20 research groups, each of which proposes a multi-disciplinary approach, at the frontiers of biology, physics and chemistry, in coherence with 3 research axes. Nearly 320 people work there as researchers, PhD students, engineers and technicians in a multicultural and international environment.
The candidate will join the group of Malene R. Jensen, which specializes in understanding the role of conformational dynamics in biology using NMR spectroscopy. The group also focuses on developing cutting-edge methodologies to characterize highly dynamic protein complexes.
More information at: www.jensen-nmr.fr

The position is funded by the Agence National de la Recherche (ANR) via the project BoronTrap.

Constraints and risks

Without.
The research will be carried out in either French or English, however it is expected that the non-French speaking candidate will strive to learn the basics of French in order to facilitate communication and integration into the laboratory.