PhD Position: Studying mito-nuclear genetic effects on cell motility in Drosophila melanogaster

Details

Cell motility is a fundamental biological property that underlies important processes such as development, immunity and cancer progression. Motility is energetically costly, yet how cell migration is affected by mitochondrial function, the generator of cellular energy, and in turn by the interaction between mitochondrially and nuclearly encoded parts of the mitochondrial machinery is essentially unknown. This PhD will harness the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a powerful model to address this question. Combining established experimental paradigms to study cell motility and the ability to generate specific mito-nuclear genotypes in flies, we will assess how compromised mito-nuclear interactions affects cell motility, how these effects are linked to changes in the cells’ energy metabolism and how they shape whole-organism phenotypes such as the immune response. Building on evolutionary principles this work will address fundamental questions in health and disease and open important new avenues for future research.

The project will involve Drosophila genetics, microscopy and computational image analysis. The work will be supervised by Max Reuter, Nick Lane and Florencia Camus at the Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCL, in collaboration with Anna Franz (UCL Cell and Developmental Biology), Brian Stramer (King’s College London) and Michael Sixt (Institute for Science and Technology, Vienna, Austria).

We are looking for candidates with curiosity, ambition and an interest in basic research. We would expect candidates to have an undergraduate or Masters degree in biology, biomedical sciences or other relevant fields. Prior experience in Drosophila and/or microscopy is useful, but not essential.

The studentship is funded by the Evolution Education Trust, including a 4-year stipend at the standard rate and funds for consumables and travel. Please note that the studentship is only available to UK home students (UK citizens and those with pre-/settled status).

To apply, please sent a CV, cover letter and details of at least two referees to Max Reuter (m.reuter@ucl.ac.uk). There is no strict application deadline, we will review applications and continue to do so until the post is filled.