PhD Studentship

The PhD student will work on a Rosetrees Trust funded interdisciplinary project working closely between Professor Jeremy Brown's research group, UCL Respiratory, Division of Medicine, UCL (https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/5245-jeremy-brown/about) and Professor Bart Hoogenboom's research group, London Centre for Nanotechnology (https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/9851-bart-hoogenboom).
Professor Brown is a clinician scientist with extensive experience in investigating the molecular pathogenesis of bacterial pneumonia, including novel therapeutic approaches. He leads an MRC funded project developing an antibody therapy for the antibiotic resistant pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. This work has identified several novel antigen targets that when targeted by an antibody therapy prevent A. baumannii infections in mouse models of disease. Professor Bart Hoogenboom is an expert on engineering, developing, and applying nanoscale characterisation research methods by atomic force microscopy. His laboratory was the first to image single DNA molecules at double-helix resolution and recently pioneered molecular-resolution imaging of the Gram negative bacterial outer membranes, including interactions with host proteins and complement.

About the role

The PhD Student will be based at the Rayne building, 5 University Street.

The main purpose of this project is to work on the development of a novel therapy for antibiotic resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections. The student will work closely with an MRC-funded team developing a monoclonal antibody treatment for A. baumannii. They will assess the efficacy of antibody to selected protein antigen targets at promoting bacterial killing using a combination of immunological assays and advanced microscopic techniques to measure at the molecular level formation of the Membrane Attack Complex on A. baumannii. By combining Brown's expertise in bacterial biology and immunology with the techniques available in the Hoogenboom laboratory this project will provide nanoscale characterisation of immune interactions on the A. baumannii bacterial outer membrane and obtain highly novel data on the functional consequences of antibody binding to different A. baumannii outer membrane target antigens.

For more details, a job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

General enquiries regarding the post can be made to Professor Jeremy Brown (Jeremy.brown@ucl.ac.uk).

The studentship is suitable for someone who has recently completed a BSc degree in a discipline related to immunology or microbiology, with research experience in a discipline relevant for immunology, molecular biology, microbiology, microscopy or vaccinology. A Master's qualification in a related discipline would be advantageous.

Also, specific prior experience in analysing immunological responses to infection would be desirable.

The UCL Division of Medicine is offering a fully funded 36 months PhD studentship within UCL Respiratory Research Department to a highly motivated candidate.

The studentship provides an annual stipend of £21,237 initially increasing to £22,523 by the third year and covers UK Home fees which are available for UK citizens or those who have settled status in the UK.