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Published: 26 Oct 2022 905 views
The breakthrough success of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines showed the potential of mRNA drugs. As a result, mRNA therapies are being designed to treat a wide range of diseases. mRNA technologies are also increasingly used in synthetic biology and biotechnology, where they can engineer, edit and reprogram cells.
This project proposes to design and build new mRNA therapies. This includes identifying transcription factors, signalling molecules and epigenetic modifiers that control cell development and cause disease. These genes will then be assembled within a synthetic mRNA scaffold incorporating additional RNA structures, sequences and modifications to control cell-specific expression. mRNA drug candidate designs are then synthesised, screened and optimised in cellular studies before subsequent pre-clinical validation.
Students will be trained in the genomics, bioinformatics and molecular biology techniques needed to design the next generation of mRNA drugs rationally. Students will then use enzymatic DNA synthesis, Oxford Nanopore sequencing, mass spectrophotometry and cell culture methods to validate their designs, with successful candidates progressing to pre-clinical analysis.
We offer more scholarships than any other university in the state, so you should take some time to research everything we have on offer. Depending on the rules and conditions of the scholarship you apply for, it might be possible to hold more than one scholarship at once – so, read all rules and conditions closely.
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| Application Deadline | 07 Nov 2022 |
| Country to study | Australia |
| School to study | University Of Queensland, Australia, University of Reading, University of Regina |
| Type | PhD |
| Sponsor | University of Queensland, Australia |
| Gender | Men and Women |
Partial Funding, $29,863 per annum
You have to prove you are prepared for PhD study. You do this by showing you:
To be considered for this scholarship, please email the following documents to Associate Professor Timothy Mercer ([email protected])
Please note the following: Submitting the above documents does not constitute a full application for admission into The University of Queensland's PhD program. If you are selected as the preferred applicant, you will then be invited to submit a full application for admission. You can familiarise yourself with the documents required for this process on UQ Study website.
