Diversity in transcription-coupled DNA repair pathways and recruitment of UvrD during transcription-coupled repair and global genome repair
Recruitment for this position has closed.
PhD project: Professors Nigel Savery and Mark Dillingham are seeking to recruit two outstanding PhD candidates to study the mechanism of transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TCR) and the interface of this pathway with mismatch repair (MMR).
In these specific projects, the students will address several questions which relate to the mechanism of transcription-coupled repair in bacterial model organisms. This pathway promotes the preferential repair of bulky DNA lesions positioned on the transcribed strand of DNA, effectively by using RNA polymerase as a DNA damage sensor. They will study the prototypical transcription-coupled repair protein Mfd, including how this pathway is affected by the mismatch repair process. They will also investigate the interaction between RNA polymerase and the UvrD protein, which was recently suggested to be important in an alternative TCR pathway. The necessity for these two alternative DNA motor proteins in the transcription coupled repair of DNA lesions, and the interplay between them are not understood.
This project will be hosted at Bristol University, with long and short training visits to other consortium partners.
Qualifications and skills
We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate of any nationality with an undergraduate background in Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Molecular Microbiology or a related field. Successful candidates will need to be able to demonstrate a good command of written and spoken English.
A minimum of an upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject is required for entry into PhD programmes at the University of Bristol. Applicants who have completed their degree in certain countries will require an MSc to enable them to enter our PhD programme. We may consider MSc by research applications from candidates with a lower second-class degree (or international equivalent).
Terms of employment
You will receive a fixed term contract for 3 years. The gross monthly salary will be €4341.33 (single) and €4841.33 (including family allowance) which both include living allowance and mobility allowance. The terms of employment will be according to the University of Bristol's terms of employment. Additionally, employment terms for Marie Curie projects (https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/index_en.htm) apply.
Additionally, employment terms for Marie Curie projects (https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/index_en.htm) apply for the first three years of employment.
Contact information
For more information about these specific positions and the research to be conducted, please contact Prof. Nigel Savery (n.j.savery@bris.ac.uk) or Prof. Mark Dillingham (Mark.Dillingham@bris.ac.uk). For queries related to PhD training at the University of Bristol or the application process please contact fbs-pg-admissions@bristol.ac.uk quoting “DNArepairman”.
Eligibility criteria and instructions on how to apply are listed on our vacancies page.
Application deadline for this position is May 1, 2017.