Next-generation single-molecule microscopy for understanding nucleic acid-lipid interactions

Project ID: 2228cd1413 (You will need this ID for your application)

Under Offer

UCL Lead department: Physics and Astronomy

Project Summary:

Why this research is important The interactions between nucleic acids and lipids underlie many developing technologies in healthcare and molecular biology. For instance, the mRNA vaccines pioneered for Covid-19 use lipid nanoparticles to efficiently deliver mRNA to cells and elicit an immune response. Improving our understanding of the molecular principles governing the formation and stability of nucleic acid-lipid complexes is crucial for advancing this rapidly expanding field. The aim of this project will be to create new techniques which analyze molecular interactions at the level of single-molecules and use them to gain new understanding of nucleic acids and lipid structure formation. Who you will be working with The project will be based in the laboratory of Nicholas Bell. The Bell lab develops new tools to study nucleic acid interactions including single-molecule techniques where individual molecules are analysed in real-time and at nanometre spatial resolution. The lab is strongly interdisciplinary and seeks to combine advances in physical measurement systems with research questions in fundamental biosciences to ultimately impact human health. The work will be supported by Phil Jones (secondary supervisor) who is an expert in optical tweezers and applications to biological and soft matter systems. What you will be doing The student will learn how to create synthetic DNA and lipid structures using molecular biology techniques. They will also be trained on and help to develop cutting-edge single-molecule microscopy techniques in the Bell lab including magnetic tweezers and fluorescence microscopy. The project will then use these techniques to characterize the diffusion, binding stability and structure of different DNA-lipid complexes.
Who we are looking for We are looking for candidates who will have a degree in either physics, chemistry or biochemistry. This project will be ideal for a candidate looking for a combination of hands-on experimental work together with computational data analysis.