Title: Supra-molecular organisation of Tir virulence factor

Detailed Description

The project intends to establish the necessary structural understanding of the mechanisms by which Tir facilitates infection. To this end, the candidate will have an opportunity to expand its expertise in various biophysical methods relevant to state-of-the-art Integrated Structural Biology, with a particular emphasis on the solution, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). A combination of low- and high-resolution techniques will be used o provide unique and complementary structural information on Tir under native-like conditions. The candidate will investigate Tir’s insertion and organisation in membranes exploiting the recent advances in SAXS- and NMR-based methods, often in combination with computational approaches. With an interdisciplinary focus and international exposure, the project will deepen our understanding of host-evasion by life-threading pathogens. The expected results are timely and have a direct impact on society, particularly in paving the way to anti-infection therapies.