Biomolecular Modelling Group
Western Australian Biomedical Research Institute (WABRI)
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

PhD position in molecular dynamics of proteins

The Biomolecular Modelling Group at WABRI has an opening for a highly
qualified Ph.D. research student with interests in applying molecular
dynamics simulation techniques to investigate the structure and function of
proteins. A scholarship (worth AUD$25,000 per year) and a waiver of all
university fees will be offered to the successful applicant, who will join
a growing research group that will soon comprise three postdoctoral
research fellows, four PhD students and two honours students. The group is
headed by Associate Professor Ricardo L. Mancera. More details about the
group's research activities can be found at WABRI's website:
http://www.wabri.org.au/research/molec_modelling.html.

The research project that the successful applicant will work on involves
the characterisation of the oxygen tunnel in the enzyme cholesterol
oxidase: the tunnelling mechanism of oxygen into the active site, the
conformational changes in the protein associated with this process, the
free energy pathways for the diffusion of oxygen into the active site and
the relationship between the tunnelling of oxygen into the active site and
the redox mechanism of action of the enzyme. This project will be carried
out in collaboration with Professor Alice Vrielink (University of Western
Australia), who was been determining very high resolution X-ray structures
of cholesterol oxidase for several years.

Applicants for this position must have completed by the time of enrolment a
first-class or upper-second class honours undergraduate degree and/or
masters degree in chemistry, physics, materials sciences, biochemistry,
chemical engineering or related field. It is also a requirement for
applicants to have demonstrable research experience in molecular dynamics
simulations of proteins. International students will need to satisfy
Curtin Universitys English language proficiency requirements by achieving
a minimum overall mark of 7.0 in the IELTS or 580 in the TOEFL paper test
(237 in the computer version or 100 in the internet version).

Curtin University of Technology (http://www.curtin.edu.au) is the largest
university in Western Australia and is ranked amongst the top universities
in Australia. The Biomolecular Modelling Group is setting up its own
dedicated GPU cluster and is also one of the major users of the Western
Australian supercomputer centre (iVEC) and the National Computational
Infrastructure facility. The group will also have access to the Pawsey
Centre  an $80 million Federal Government initiative to establish a
petaflop computing facility in Perth. In addition, living in the state
capital Perth offers a great lifestyle due to Western Australias superb
weather, beaches and outdoors activities.

Only applicants that fulfill the above requirements need apply by
submitting a copy of their full CV to Assoc. Prof. Ricardo L. Mancera
(R.Mancera^^^curtin.edu.au), including full details of all academic degrees
obtained, research skills and experience, publications and conference
presentations, and the names of 2-3 referees.