PhD Opportunity – The molecular basis of cell self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells

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Outline: Self-renewal and pluripotency are the main characteristics of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Nanog is the key transcription factor that controls both self-renewal and pluripotency of ESCs.

The aims of this project are to understand on a biochemical and molecular level how Nanog self-assembles and binds to DNA. This project will involve expressing and purifying Nanog-containing macromolecular complexes, developing protocols for studying their three dimensional structure, and designing biophysical characterisation experiments (in both single molecule and ensemble setups) to unravel the molecular determinants of Nanog functions.

Techniques:

1. Gene cloning, Protein over-expression purification, biochemical and cellular assays
2. Reconstitution of multi-protein and protein:DNA complexes
3. Assay development
4. Cryo-electron Microscopy
5. SAXS
6. FRET; FRET-FLIM
7. Super-resolution microscopy

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