Description of position DC06

Within the Chemical Glycobiology Group of CIC bioGUNE and in the framework of the ENSCC Doctoral Network, DC6 will be in charge of the project “NMR-based binding screening and structural studies”, focused on high-resolution molecular recognition studies (host-guest chemistry) of biologically relevant carbohydrates (glycans) by different chemical entities (foldamers, synthetic lectins, peptide-based receptors, macrocycles etc.…) designed and chemically synthesized by other ENSCC members for such purpose. Diverse state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methodologies and strategies will be employed with the aims of screening, quantifying binding affinities, and characterizing the 3D structure and recognition features of the created macromolecular entities. Other complementary techniques, such as X-ray crystallography, calorimetry, and computational modelling will be employed. The project will be developed in close collaboration with the other members of the consortium, aimed at establishing feed-back interactions that will guide the further design and development of carbohydrate binding entities towards specific targets. The project foresees two secondments, one in industry (spin-off company in Bilbao, Spain) and another in academia (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) for DC6 to broaden her/his technical skills and encounter different working environments. The Chemical Glycobiology lab in CIC bioGUNE is a world leader on the use of NMR to study molecular recognition phenomena and hosts one of the most advanced NMR facilities in Spain (up to 1 GHz). The group is highly international, as well as interdisciplinary, gathering chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, and molecular biology expertise.