A two year post-doctoral position is available at the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France) to study
membrane protein complexes involved in bacterial nutrient acquisition.
The successful candidate will join the lab of Nadia Izadi-Pruneyre and work in collaboration
with the lab of Michael Nilges. Both are part of the Department of Structural Biology.
Requirements:
Applicants should hold a PhD in Structural biology or Biochemistry with experience in NMR
and/or cryoEM. Experience in Membrane Proteins and Structural bioinformatics is considered
as a plus.
Project:
Bacteria acquire their nutrients from the host. Vital and scarce nutrients such as metals,
some vitamins and sugars are imported by specific transporters on the surface of bacteria via
an energized system. Despite the key role of this transport system in bacterial pathogenicity,
and its relevance as a new antibacterial target, its mechanism is not well understood. Structural
and molecular interaction data on the complete machinery are missing due to the constraints
from the bacterial double envelope, the dynamics of the interactions and the energized nature
of the system. We recently purified several sub-complexes of this machinery. This project aims
to complete the structural and dynamic characterization of these sub-complexes and their
interactions with protein partners and the cell wall by using NMR and cryoEM. This information
will then be used to develop new antibacterial strategies, combining in silico screening,
microbiology, and biophysical assays.
Scientific environment:
Our laboratory is equipped by several Akta chromatography systems with a complete set of
columns for protein purification. Our team has privileged access to the state-of-the art facilities
in protein expression, biophysics of molecular interaction (ITC, BLI,...), NMR (600 and 800
MHz equipped with a cryoprobe) and cryoEM (1 Titan Krios and 2 Glacios).
The Institut Pasteur is centrally located in Paris, just 2.5 km from the Eiffel Tower. This
multidisciplinary institute is recognized worldwide as a leader in infectious diseases research
and is ranked as a top-level institution for publication impact in different fields of biology.
Founded over a century ago, the institute of today stands at the forefront of biomedical
research and a total of 10 Nobel prizes having been accorded to its scientists. It hosts more
than 130 research groups organized in 12 scientific departments, and around 20 technical core
facilities. The Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry (DBSC) uses an integrative
approach to the study of complex biological systems, based on a strong activity in structural
biology, synthetic chemistry, and biochemistry.
Application: Interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae and the contact information
for two referees to nadia.izadi@pasteur.fr
Nadia Izadi-Pruneyre (PhD)
Bacterial Transmembrane Systems (BaTS) Unit, Head/ CNRS Research Director
Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Deputy Director
Institut Pasteur & CNRS UMR 3528
25-28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15
https://research.pasteur.fr/en/team/bacterial-transmembrane-systems/