Vrsta priložnosti
Študentsko delo
Organizacija
NMR centre, National institute of chemistry
Datum zaključka
1. 6. 2025
Povzetek priložnosti
Študentsko delo / Student work
Opis priložnosti
Student Research Project:
Exploring the structure and function of RNA in biomolecular condensates
Exploring the structure and function of RNA in biomolecular condensates
Are you interested in working on RNA networks and fascinated by using structural biology and molecular modelling methods to understand and design new functional RNA networks? Want to work at the forefront of structural, molecular and computational biology? We offer a great and exciting research opportunity (initially via studentska napotnica and later as part of an MSc thesis with possibility of continuing research towards PhD thesis after the successful MSc defence) that will allow you to work in a collaborative project between the SloNMR Centre (KI), RNA Networks Lab (KI), the Department of Theoretical Physics (IJS) and German Center for Synthetic Genomics (SynGen). The joint project will address RNA networks through detailed physical characterisation of the functional consequences of individual components of RNA networks in cells, supported by molecular modelling.
Project Overview: RNA molecules coordinate the organization of biomolecular condensates and subcellular membraneless compartments. What are the properties of RNA that enable them to do this, and how does perturbation of the RNA components alter the outcome of the fate of the cell? We will seek to answer this question with your help by using in vitro biophysical methods to understand the contribution of specific RNA features (sequence, length, concentration, interaction with environment and proteins) to biocondensate formation. The knowledge gained in this step will inform coarse-grained molecular modelling to understand how the knowledge can be used to build more general models and predict properties of any given RNA. Finally, the predictive power of the model will be tested in the in-cell functional assay to identify the interactomes of cells and how are these changed in modelling-informed mutants
What You’ll Do: You will work on an interdisciplinary project that links:
● structural biology (RNA in vitro and solid-phase synthesis, NMR, CD and UV/VIS spectroscopy),
molecular biology (probe design, hybridization assays, RNA/protein isolation, immunoprecipitation)
● cell culture & engineering (CRISPR and Flp-In engineering of new cell lines)
● biotin-based proteomics (proximity labeling, streptavidin pulldown, mass spectrometry)
● microscopy (bright-field, STED or confocal imaging)
● molecular modelling (coarse-grained 2D and 3D simulations)
● bioinformatics (sequence- and structure-based measures of RNA properties)
Project Environment:
You’ll be primarily based at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, in close scientific exchange with Božič group at Institute Jožef Stefan and with opportunities to undertake also a fully-funded research stay at Carl Zeiss Center for Synthetic Genomics of Heidelberg University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
You’ll be primarily based at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, in close scientific exchange with Božič group at Institute Jožef Stefan and with opportunities to undertake also a fully-funded research stay at Carl Zeiss Center for Synthetic Genomics of Heidelberg University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Joint Supervision: You will be supervised by
● dr. Maja Marušič (National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana)
● Prof. dr. Miha Modic (Carl Zeiss Center for Synthetic Genomics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and
National Institute of Chemistry)
● dr. Anže Božič (Institute Jozef Stefan, Ljubljana)
Who We’re Looking For:
● Bachelor and Master’s student in molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, biotechnology, laboratory biomedicine, pharmacy, physics or a related field
● Strong interest in RNA-protein interactions and their structural determinants, cellular organization, and/or computational modelling
● Initial experience with lab techniques (in vitro transcription, PCR, RNA isolation, transfection, etc.)
● (Bonus) Skills in microscopy, computational biology (Python, R, Amber) or spectroscopic analysis (NMR and mass spectroscopy)
Apply to: For more information and to apply, please contact Maja Marušič (marusic.maja@ki.si), Miha Modic (miha.modic@kit.edu) or Anže Božič (anze.bozic@ijs.si).
Application should include:
● 1-page motivation letter
● CV
● Contact details of one research group (the PI of the lab or your working mentor) where you have previously worked
We are looking forward to hearing from you!