Related linksBioinformatics / Biophysics / Structural Biology (PhD / MPhil) - 2009/2010 entry
Aims
Our PhD programme provides you with the opportunity to train in our world-class research department. The research base of the department is widened through its connection with the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB), a joint initiative with University College London. Our recent graduates have found posts in industry, universities and the public sector, and former graduates are on the academic staffs of major universities throughout the world.Assessment
Details about PhD assessment are available on the School of Crystallography PhD web pages.
Staff research areas
Research in the School of Crystallography focuses on the structure and function of biological macromolecules and their role in diseases. The primary techniques used in the department are X-ray crystallography and single particle electron microscopy, CD spectroscopy and other biophysics techniques (with protein NMR spectroscopy based just across the road at University College London), bioinformatics and computational structural biology of macromolecular assemblies.
The biological topics include: protein folding, molecular chaperones and stress proteins; protein misfolding in amyloid fibrils; conformational disorders and disease; membrane protein structure and ion channels; bacterial secretion systems, toxins and resuscitation factors; bacterial DNA repair mechanisms; viral protein–nucleic acid interactions; RNA metabolism and interactions; molecular simulation and inhibitor design; cytoskeleton, the kinetochore and cell signaling proteins; prediction of protein function, immunoinformatics and chemoinformatics; biomedical text mining and modelling uncertainty in biological data; annotation of eukaryotic genomes and discovery of regulatory regions
Study resources
The School is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and associated image processing. There are excellent facilities for UV and CD spectroscopy, calorimetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultracentrifugation, and protein expression and purification in the biochemical and molecular biology laboratories. We have a 158 processor cluster for intensive data processing. All areas have specialised computer equipment for data analysis, molecular graphics and molecular modelling.
Because we have a large number of PhD students, we run a formal lecture programme, which includes graduate studies (Science in the Real World), transferable skills, modern techniques, and a lecture course on Principles and Practice of Structural Biology, especially for PhD students.
In addition, our PhD students are encouraged to sit in on any appropriate lectures from our MSc Bioinformatics with Systems Biology. PhD students also have access to our web-based MSc Structural Molecular Biology course, which provides training in the Principles of Protein Structure, Protein Crystallography, and Techniques in Structural Molecular Biology.
Special features
The department forms part of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB), a joint initiative with University College London. Our funded PhD programmes, which come under the ISMB umbrella, have been designed to ensure cross-disciplinary training.
The School of Crystallography is a key participant in the Wellcome Trust interdisciplinary four-year PhD programme in Structural, Computational and Chemical Biology. This unique interdisciplinary PhD programme provides the opportunity to study at University College London, Birkbeck and the National Institute for Medical Research. Further details are available on the interdisciplinary PhD programme website.
When to apply
- You can apply at any time during the year.
- Funded studentships are awarded from December onwards, and students should apply as early as possible to be considered for these.