Vacancy Summary
Premature termination codons (PTCs) are responsible for 10–15% of all genetic disease. PTC mutations inhibit synthesis of full-length proteins and may be more deleterious than missense mutations as they result in the loss of protein expression. With no approved therapy and many severe disease phenotypes including cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy, PTC-derived disease represents an unmet medical need. We are seeking a highly motivated and creative individual to develop novel RNA-therapeutics for treatment of PTC-related disease. Applicants are invited to apply for a four-year SFI-IRC funded PhD studentship working in the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT).
The project will be conducted under the direct supervision of Dr. Alan Costello and the student will be registered to the UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.
PhD Supervisor – Dr. Alan Costello
This PhD studentship will be supervised by Dr. Alan Costello. Alan graduated with a PhD from Dublin City University in 2019. Working with Prof Niall Barron and Prof Martin Clynes at the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB), they engineered post-transcriptional regulation of coding and non-coding RNA in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Interest in RNA and synthetic biology led Alan to join Dr. Ahmed Badran’s group at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in 2020. At Broad they evolved ribosomal RNA to enhance translation kinetics. Later, the Badran lab relocated to The Scripps Research Institute California (TRSI) where Alan continued to work on directed evolution of RNA for genetic code expansion. In 2024, they were awarded funding by SFI-IRC to establish a group in NIBRT. The group will apply the tools of synthetic biology and molecular biology to evolve RNA molecules for therapeutic applications.
Position Available
Four-Year funded PhD Studentship in Synthetic Biology for RNA Therapeutics
Location
NIBRT, Dublin, Ireland www.nibrt.ie
Department
Research
Hiring Manager
Dr. Alan Costello
Contract Type
PhD Studentship
Application Date
ASAP
Application: The application should include
- a cover letter (max one page) describing your interest in the project and pursuing a PhD,
- a detailed CV, and
- contact details for two references.
Applicants should submit these documents in pdf format with the subject line “SFI-IRC 2024 PhD Studentship Application” to acostello@scripps.edu with c.c. to careers@nibrt.ie
Informal inquiries about the project may also be addressed to Dr. Costello by email acostello@scripps.edu.
Interview Dates
Month of June 2024.
Salary & Benefits
NIBRT Benefits include, https://www.nibrt.ie/careers/
Role Purpose
The lab aims to discover new-to-nature biomolecular functions for the betterment of human health and society. The successful applicant will work closely with the PI applying synthetic biology and directed evolution methods to uncover novel RNA-therapeutics. Working collaboratively, they will engineer and evolve transfer RNAs (tRNAs) to decode PTCs within the mRNA of disease related genes and identify strategies to improve delivery of these molecules.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform experiments including data collection and analysis, both individually and with others.
- Maintain a detailed record of all work and make this available to the PI routinely.
- Present project updates to the lab during group meetings.
- Disseminate research findings to the greater scientific community via oral or poster presentations at conferences, invited talks, and peer-reviewed publications.
- Comply with all NIBRT and UCD policies and regulations, including those in relation to Research Ethics, Data Storage, and Health and Safety.
Essential Criteria
- Applicants must have or expect to obtain an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, biology, or related field, minimum grade 2.1 (or equivalent).
- Be enthusiastic, solution-orientated, resilient, and a team player.
- Have strong oral and written communication, record keeping, and presentation skills.
- Exhibit excellent collaborative and interpersonal skills.
Desirable Criteria
- A good understanding of nucleic acid and protein biochemistry.
- Prior experience with DNA assembly, mammalian cell culture, biomolecular engineering, and strain/ cell engineering are all beneficial but not necessary.
- Experience with bioinformatics pipelines for high-throughput sequencing is also a plus but not required.
Awards and Recognition
