*Supervisors: *Prof Linda King (Oxford Brookes), Prof Robert Possee
(NERC)
and Dr Richard Hitchman (OET Ltd)
Eligibility: Applicants should have a good Honours degree (2.1 or
equivalent) and either have been educated to degree level through the
medium
of English or have TOEFL 600 (250) / IELTS 7 or equivalent
Starting in October 2007
Value p.a. �11,500 bursary, & fees
*Closing Date: **21st May 2007 *
Interviews will be held on either June 6th, 7th or 8th
*Project Description*
Baculoviruses have long been used as vectors to produce recombinant
proteins
in insect cells and recently Oxford Expression Technologies have
developed a
novel system that enables multiple recombinant viruses to be produced
in
high throughput, robotic systems. However, the expression system still
relies upon virus infection of insect cells are the requirement for
protein
production in an infected and dying cell. Studies have shown that
deleting
some non-essential virus genes can have positive effects on protein
production, for example, deletion of the chitinase gene enhances the
production of secreted and membrane-targeted proteins. Deletion of
cathepsin, a cysteine protease, enhances the quality and quantity of
proteins susceptible to degradation by this class of protease. The
purpose
of this studentship will be to investigate the possibility that other
virus
gene deletions may have a positive, beneficial effect on recombinant
protein
production.
The sequence of the AcMNPV genome is known and indicates about 150 open
reading frames of which it is predicted about 60% encode for genes
essential
for replication. The other 40% encode genes predicted to be
non-essential
for virus replication in cell culture and therefore are potential
candidates
for gene deletion. The Oxford labs have a well established mechanism
for
creating gene deletions, using bacmid technology (where the virus
genome is
maintained as a replicon in bacterial cells). The MPhil phase of the
project
will be to identify candidate genes using bioinformatics, create a test
virus expressing three reporter genes (expressing easily assayable
cellular,
membrane-targeted and secreted proteins) and systematically delete the
candidate genes from this virus. It is envisaged that the PhD stage
will
involve testing gene expression using a variety of techniques �
molecular,
biochemical and cellular and choosing one or two candidate virus
mutants for
further detailed characterisation and possible exploitation through
OET.
The student will benefit from a well established collaboration between
the
three Oxford partners, excellent facilities, an excellent PhD training
programme offered by the School of Life Sciences and the chance to
collaborate with a newly established University spin-out company.
An opportunity to develop teaching skills in higher education may be
included in the training available with this studentship.
To discuss the project and for any other scientific queries contact
Richard
Hitchman. Email Dr Richard Hitchman
To apply for this project, applicants should quote the title of the
studentship and include a letter of application, CV and the names and
addresses of two academic referees (one of whom can also comment on the
applicant's potential for teaching)
Applications will only be accepted by post, and not by email, to:
Ms Angela Robinson
Research Administrator
School of Life Sciences
Oxford Brookes University
Headington
Oxford
OX3 0BP
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 483295
Email: Ms Angela Robinson
*Further Details*
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