PhD position available in Engel group at the Biozentrum in Basel, Switzerland
This PhD project is part of an HFSP-funded study of how thylakoid membranes adapt to changing light conditions. The main focus of this student will be to perform in situ cryo-electron tomography of Chlamydomonas algae cells exposed to different light intensities, and then to analyze how the thylakoid membranes are remodeled and repaired from damage. To get a feeling for what this cryo-ET data looks like, please see: https://elifesciences.org/articles/53740. As part of our HFSP consortium, the student will also interact with a biophysics group in Amsterdam (Roberta Croce) and a molecular modeling group in Texas (Doran Bennett).
This is an opportunity to learn FIB milling and cryo-ET in an experienced lab, to try out new deep learning-based analysis approaches, and to dive into structural studies of photosynthesis with our fun team (https://www.cellarchlab.com/people.html). This project will be co-supervised by our group’s senior scientist, Wojciech Wietrzynski. He’s an expert in both photosynthesis and cryo-ET, and he’s a great teacher! Basel is a very comfortable place to live– it’s a small city, close to lots of nature, but also very international and welcoming. And the Biozentrum is an amazing place to work, with a diverse community of world-class scientists.
The position is available immediately. Please drop me an email if you have any questions. For applications, please send me a CV (with the names of two references) as well as a short letter of motivation.
Ben Engel
https://www.cellarchlab.com/