early-career researcher

A post-doctoral position is available to investigate and engineer the molecular mechanisms that regulate intracellular transport by cytoskeletal motor proteins. This Wellcome-funded post is available for 3 years within the laboratory of Dr Jessica Cross in the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol. The successful candidate will work closely with collaborators including Professor Dek Woolfson (protein design), Dr Mark Dodding (molecular cell biology), Dr Andrew Carter (structural biology) and Dr Simon Bullock (cell biology). The project will combine computational protein design, protein expression and purification, structural and biophysical characterisation, and cell biology to understand how coiled-coil adaptor proteins regulate dynein and kinesin motors, and to engineer novel switchable proteins capable of controlling intracellular transport.

What will you be doing?

Specifically, the work will investigate how the dynein adaptor Bicaudal D2 (BicD2) regulates intracellular transport through dynamic coiled-coil conformational changes. Building on our discoveries of conformational regulation and peptide-mediated control of kinesin-1 (Cross et al. Cell Chemical Biology, 2021; Weijman et al. Science Advances, 2022; Rhys, Cross, Dawson et al. Nature Chemical Biology, 2022, Cross et al. Nature Chemical Biology, 2024; Shulka, Cross, Kish et al. eLife, 2025), the appointee will engineer novel protein and peptide switches to control BicD2 activity using a combination of computational protein design, protein biochemistry and cell biology. We anticipate that this work will provide fundamental mechanistic insights into motor regulation while delivering new tools to manipulate intracellular transport and inform future therapeutic strategies for diseases associated with motor dysfunction., The successful applicant will join a highly collaborative research environment and work closely with Professor Dek Woolfson, Dr Mark Dodding, Dr Andrew Carter and Dr Simon Bullock. There will be excellent opportunities for training in computational protein design, advanced biophysical techniques, single-molecule assays and live-cell imaging. The appointee will be expected to work seamlessly across collaborating laboratories to maximise opportunities for interdisciplinary research.

This position would suit a talented and ambitious early-career researcher with an interest in protein engineering, structural biology, biophysics or cell biology. Essential skills include experience in recombinant protein expression and purification, molecular biology and protein characterisation, together with the ability to design and conduct independent research. Experience in computational protein design, structural biology, cell biology, motor proteins or intracellular transport would be advantageous, but is not essential, and we particularly encourage applicants who are enthusiastic about developing expertise across disciplines.