Postdoctoral Research Associate

**About the role**





The arms race at the plant-pathogen interface is a fascinating field of
biology that can deliver important new strategies for crop protection. Within
this ERC-funded project, we used chemical proteomics to discover secreted
plant proteins of _Nicotiana benthamiana_ that are manipulated by _Pseudomonas
syringae_ during infection (e.g. Sueldo et al., New Phytol. 2024) and used
artificial intelligence (e.g. Homma et al., Nat. Comm 2023) to predict
pathogen proteins that might be responsible for this manipulation. This
project aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underpinning extracellular
manipulation of the host during infection. You will use co-immunoprecipitation
to verify predicted protein-protein interactions and establish enzymatic
assays and activity-based labelling to demonstrate the effect of target
manipulation. You will use reverse genetics to deplete the components from
both plant and pathogen to demonstrate their importance in pathogen virulence
and plant immunity.





**About you**





We seek an enthusiastic new colleague who has extensive experience in
molecular cloning, protein expression and purification, and who is keen to
collaborate in an interdisciplinary research team.





**How to apply**





Applications should include the application letter, a CV, a list addressing
the job criteria, and names of two academic references. Where Covid-19 has
resulted in substantial disruption to your work or research outputs, please
explain this by providing an additional paragraph in your supporting
statement.





The University of Oxford is committed to equality and valuing diversity. All
applicants will be judged on merit, according to the selection criteria.





This post is a 2-year fixed term, full time position.





The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on 02 August 2024.





For further inquiries, please contact renier.vanderhoorn@biology.ox.ac.uk