STRUCTURAL BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE INTERACTION OF THE NEURONAL PROTEIN TAU WITH TUBULIN
A post-doctoral fellowship is available immediately at the Laboratoire d'Enzymologie et Biochimie Structurales (LEBS), CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. The contract will be initially for a period of one year. Our group works on structural aspects of the regulation of microtubule assembly. This project deals with Tau family proteins. These proteins favor microtubule assembly but, when abnormally phophorylated, they aggregate. They are associated with the symptoms of Alzheimer disease; in addition, some familial forms of dementia are correlated with mutations in Tau. In a joint project with an NMR group (for recent work on the interaction of Tau with microtubules see Sillen et al. (2007) Biochemistry 46, 3055), we will study the interaction of Tau with tubulin by biophysical and biochemical methods in solution and characterize by X-ray crystallography the complexes formed. The lab has state of the art equipment for protein purification and characterization. Crystallization robotics and X-ray diffraction equipment are also available in-house (see http://www.lebs.cnrs-gif.fr/home.html). We are located in a multidisciplinary life sciences campus, 40 minutes by direct train from the centre of Paris with a regular access to synchrotron sources including the closeby french synchrotron SOLEIL. Applicants should hold a Ph. D., have experience in biochemistry (cloning, protein expression, purification and characterization) and an interest in structural studies. Experience in protein crystallization and crystallography would be an advantage but motivated biochemists – molecular biologists will be trained in these techniques. To apply, please send a CV, a short summary of your research experience and the names and contact information of two referees by e-mail to Dr. Marcel Knossow ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). For details on the group please see our web page (http://www.lebs.cnrs-gif.fr/knossow/knossowang.html).
