PhD scholarship in Synthetic Biology and Protein Engineering

What you'll receive

• The successful applicant will receive a living allowance of $28,597 per annum for three years, indexed annually.
• The scholarship is for full-time study and can be used to support living costs.
• A successful international student will be considered for a HDR tuition fee sponsorship, if successful in receiving the scholarship.

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, preference/priority will be given to Domestic or Resident International students but exceptional International applicants will be considered.

Eligibility

• Meet QUT academic and English language entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy
• Applicants should have completed an Honours degree (class 1) in biological or chemical sciences, or a master’s degree with a significant research component (or equivalent).

Desired skills: The analytical skills in a field of biology or chemistry are be critical, as well as laboratory techniques, good communication and writing skills.

The provision of a scholarship is conditional on successful application and admission to the Doctor of Philosophy course. Eligibility for admission to a research degree is determined by the Graduate Research Centre.

Applicants will be assessed against the Science and Engineering Faculty's admission criteria: Domestic Students | International Students

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, preference/priority will be given to Domestic or Resident International students but exceptional International applicants will be considered.

How to apply

Please contact Professor Kirill Alexandrov (kirill.alexandrov@qut.edu.au) for more details

What happens next?

The provision of a scholarship is conditional on successful application and admission to the Doctor of Philosophy course. Eligibility for admission to a research degree is determined by the Graduate Research Centre.

Future students

You will be invited to submit your application via QUT's Application Portal:

1. Follow the How to apply steps, outlined in QUT's how to apply website.
2. You must submit your Expression of Interest in a timely manner
3. Indicate your interest in this scholarship by nominating Professor Kirill Alexandrov as principal supervisor and include the name of this scholarship in the financial details section.
4. If your EOI is accepted you will be invited to submit a full application including a research proposal to finalise your application.

Current students

Professor Kirill Alexandrov will provide the outcome of your scholarship application.

Conditions

The conditions for retaining the scholarship are set out in the rules of the QUT Postgraduate Research Award (Domestic) or QUT Postgraduate Research Award (International).

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, preference/priority will be given to Domestic or Resident International students but exceptional International applicants will be considered.

About the scholarship

Project title: Synthetic biology approaches to engineering of complex protein systems

Project summary:

Proteins are responsible for most of energy and information processing in biological systems. The emerging field of Synthetic Biology aims to use engineering principles to modify existing and create new protein based signalling and metabolic systems. The projects combine development of methods of in vitro protein production and analysis with structure-based protein design. The projects will create novel protein-based functional modules such as molecular switches and thereon based signalling and enzymatic cascades. These will be used for applications in industrial biotechnology, cellular engineering and diagnostics.

Supervisory team: Prof Kirill Alexandrov, Prof Robert Speight

Source of Funding: Australian Research Council Center of Excellence in Synthetic biology , QUT scholarship scheme.

Student Opportunities: Two PhD students are being sought to join an international and interdisciplinary team of scientist working on synthetic biology projects aimed at, on one hand, developing new ways of producing proteins with novel properties in vitro and on the other hand to use this technology to design novel protein-based molecular switches and pathways.

The project will be based in Queensland, with some aspects of the work conducted by collaborators in other states, Europe and the US. Over three years, the successful applicants will have gained a broad range of technical skills in protein chemistry, protein engineering, analytical biochemistry and molecular biology that will prepare them very well for the rapidly developing Synthetic Biology industry.

Two PhD students are being sought to join an international and interdisciplinary team of scientist working on synthetic biology projects aimed at, on one hand, developing new ways of producing proteins with novel properties in vitro and on the other hand to use this technology to design novel protein-based molecular switches and pathways.

The project will be based in Queensland, with some aspects of the work conducted by collaborators in other states, Europe and the US. Over three years, the successful applicants will have gained a broad range of technical skills in protein chemistry, protein engineering, analytical biochemistry and molecular biology that will prepare them very well for the rapidly developing Synthetic Biology industry.

You will have the opportunity to:

• work within a newly established ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic biology and CSIRO-QUT Synthetic Biology Alliance.
• develop research skills across a range of disciplines including biochemistry, structural, chemical and molecular biology
• work with innovative start ups and established industry partners

The students will be based at Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point, Brisbane.

For further information please contact:

Professor Kirill Alexandrov (kirill.alexandrov@qut.edu.au)