Computational Biophysics of Synthetically Engineered Protein Nanopores

The project will apply molecular modelling and simulations to the development of synthetically augmented transmembrane protein nanopores. The project brings together the expertise of the Zachariae group (molecular simulation of ion channels) and Cockroft group (synthetically functionalised protein nanopores). The aim of the project is to provide mechanistic insights into the design and operation of transmembrane molecular pumps and artificial enzymes constructed from chemically modified transmembrane proteins. This interdisciplinary project will provide training in the requisite computational modelling software/methods and its broader application to the design of membrane-spanning molecular machines. The successful candidate will work in close partnership with experimentalists constructing such systems and the atomistic interpretation of single-channel electrophysiological recordings.