stillingsbetegnelse:
PhD position in Pharmaceutical Technology within the EU ITN project PIPPI - (ESR6)

jobbeskrivelse:
A 3-year PhD scholarship in Pharmaceutical Technology is available at the Department Pharmacy at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany. The position will be available from 1st of June 2016 on or as soon as possible thereafter. The PhD student will be part of the EU-funded project “Protein-excipient Interactions and Protein-Protein Interactions in formulations” (PIPPI). Apart from the research work itself, the students’ participation in the project will involve tight collaboration with project partners and frequent visits to the involved labs, active participation at the bi-annual network events, as well as training in complementary skills such as project management. About PIPPI PIPPI is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) concerning the challenges in formulation of protein-based drugs. PIPPI will combine systematic investigations of the physicochemical behavior of a number of proteins with an in-depth understanding of the molecular interactions behind the macroscopic behavior. The overall objective is to develop methodologies, tools and databases to guide the formulation of robust biopharmaceuticals in the future. The Technical University of Denmark (DK) coordinates this exciting collaborative project. The academic partners include University of Manchester (UK), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München (DE), Lund University (SE), University of Copenhagen (DK), MAXIV Laboratory (SE). The industry partners involved in the project include: Novozymes A/S (DK), MedImmune Ltd. (UK), Wyatt Technology Europe GmbH (DE), NanoTemper Technologies GmbH (DE). Each of the project partners contributes world-class competence in particular areas. The core research contribution to this project from the chair of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics at LMU is in the area of research on stable formulations for modern protein drugs, establishing new formulation related protein analytics, fundamentals of understanding the role of protein and excipient molecules in the formulation and protein drug delivery. This PhD project (ESR6) focuses on the rational design of aggregation-breaking excipients in protein formulations. We want to test a novel concept for designing excipients through modelling of aggregation sites, binding sites and excipient/protein interaction studies for general applicability Up to now excipients for protein formulations are selected empirically from a few substance classes. The interaction of excipients with proteins is either neglected or studied on a basis that does not consider the excipient binding sites nor the individual molecular sites on the protein where aggregation starts. If one could selectively block protein – protein interaction by adding an excipient binding to that “hot spot”, aggregation could be reduced. This concept was already presented in literature for one specific antibody. The general applicability of the concept is unknown and the right degree of binding or balance between destabilisation through structural interaction and aggregation breaking is unknown. Model proteins and molecular variants with different structures and aggregation behaviour shall be studied. Aggregation hot spots need to be found by data mining and modelling plus characterization via NMR and SAXS. Aggregation-breaking small molecules are then modelled onto the aggregation site. Testing of excipient candidates with all necessary methods in short term aggregation studies shall be carried out and finally the compatibility of excipient candidates needs to be evaluated. Secondment The successful candidate will visit both academic and industrial partners during the project. This will ensure the buildup of a portfolio of interdisciplinary techniques relevant for the applicant’s project and PIPPI objectives. A particularly important cooperation and secondment is planned for this project with DTU (Prof. Günther Peters). Qualifications Applicants should hold a Master of Science degree

Arbejdsgiver Navn: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet

Arbejdsgiver telefonnummer: 45252525

Arbejdsgiver faxnummer: 45881799

Job kort beskrivelse:
Undervisning og forskning på universiteter og højere læreranstalter

land: Danmark

region: Hovedstaden

krævede uddannelse: Ikke angivet

Kilde til jobtilbud: AMS, Offentlige arbejdsformidlinger, Danmark