PhD Scholarship: High-throughput Screening of New Bioactive Peptides

ARC Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia’s Bioactives

The opportunity

A fully funded scholarship is available for domestic and international students at the Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia’s Bioactives (FAAB) which is a multi-disciplinary consortium of 4 Universities and 16 Partner Organisations. The successful candidate will benefit from an innovative training programme in technical and transferable professional skills for an exciting career in bioactives research and development. Candidates are also expected to spend up to 12 months in placements with industry partners.

You will be part of a diverse multicultural team of students and academics and work closely with industry partners on their bioactives R&D needs. As we are an ARC Training Centre, building the capacity of the future research workforce is core to FAAB activities which means you are expected to participate in professional learning that may or may not directly relate to your research topic but gives you the skills required to succeed in the modern R&D workplace. For these scholarships we particularly encourage domestic students to apply.    

The project

Bioactive peptides are specific small amino acid fragments capable of causing physiochemical changes in normal body processes. Nature is a rich source for a wide variety of biologically active peptides expressed. Accordingly, organisms represent an excellent first source for peptide discovery and exploration. In this project, peptide libraries from new and unusual sources will be screened through an affinity-based and bioactivity selection strategy against specific targets. This project will combine high-throughput screening with mass spectrometry, spectroscopy and chromatography to identify new bioactive peptides for multiple applications (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-viral). 

The candidate

We are seeking a talented and motivated candidate with expertise in mass spectrometry and protein biochemistry to join our dynamic team at FAAB. Experience in bioactivity assays, including in-vitro assays would be desirable. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary and collaborative research environment, leveraging state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge technologies.

How to apply

Please submit your CV and a brief cover letter via our FAAB application portal https://rb.gy/saio5k. If you would like to discuss any academic aspects of this project with us, please contact Prof Anwar Sunna (anwar.sunna@mq.edu.au). If you have any other questions or have difficulties with the application portal, please contact Dr Frank Stadler (faab@mq.edu.au). We accept applications until Friday 9 February 2024, 5pm (AEDT), but please note that applicants will be assessed on a rolling basis as applications are received. Therefore, the position may be filled with an available and suitably qualified candidate prior to the closing date. Successful applicants will be invited to formally apply for a FAAB Scholarship through the University online application portal.

Candidates with an MRes or equivalent will enter directly into a 3.5 year PhD programme. Candidates with an Honours degree or who have completed the first year of an MRes programme (or equivalent) will be offered a 1+3 year funding bundle leading to dual MRes and PhD qualifications. The scholarship stipend (not taxable) is $36,161 per annum (2023 rate).