Calcium influx through Voltage-Activated Calcium Channels (VACCs) is essential for signalling in excitable tissues like the heart, brain, and muscle, regulating key functions such as synaptic transmission and cardiac contraction (1). Uncontrolled calcium entry can damage cells, leading to serious diseases like cardiac arrhythmias, neuropathic pain, and hypertension. Proper regulation of VACC activity is crucial for maintaining physiological balance and preventing abnormal calcium signalling. This regulation depends on the coordinated assembly and maturation of several protein components, including the α1 pore-forming subunit and its regulatory β and α2δ subunits.
Our group has previously discovered that the modulatory effects of α2δ subunits on calcium channels depend on their proteolytic maturation, a critical step for VACC activation (2,3).
This project aims to develop novel calcium channel inhibitors by targeting α2δ subunits via this newly discovered mechanism. Understanding the structure-function relationship could lead to therapeutic interventions for VACC-related disorders such as chronic pain and cardiovascular dysfunctions. You will be trained in techniques such as patch-clamp electrophysiology, high-resolution imaging, immunocytochemistry, protein chemistry, and flow cytometry to study calcium channel function and trafficking in HEK293, cardiac and/or neuronal cells. You will be supervised by ion channel specialists with complementary expertise (Dr. Kadurin / Prof. Tinker) and collaborate with experts in protein engineering, electrophysiology, and structural biology at QMUL.
About our group: Dr. Ivan Kadurin’s group joined SBBS in 2022, becoming part of the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary’s Whitechapel Campus, where we work within a vibrant community of structural and cell biology experts. To learn more about our research, please visit our website: kadurinlab.org. In addition, our PhD students become part of Queen Mary’s Doctoral College, which provides training and development opportunities, funding advice, and financial support for research. Students also benefit from the Researcher Development Programme, designed to build key skills needed to manage research effectively and prepare for the next stages of their careers.Training and support: In our group, you will receive training in a variety of advanced techniques for studying human physiology, including electrophysiological, biochemical, and imaging methods, focusing on human cell lines, cardiovascular cells and primary neurons. Based at the Blizard Institute, we are ideally positioned to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects with experts in structural biology, cell biology, and neuroscience. We also maintain connections with cardiovascular physiologists at QMUL. At the institute, you will have access to state-of-the-art research facilities, staffed by experienced professionals. These resources include an imaging suite with confocal and light-sheet microscopes, TIRF microscopy, and a FACS flow cytometry facility, along with robust student support services (blizard.qmul.ac.uk).
Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.
We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as: biomedical sciences, neuroscience, biochemistry or a related field such as bioengineering.
Past research experience (internships or summer studentships) will be valuable. Alternately, remote data analysis can also be valuable.
You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 1st March 2025. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.
Please find further details on our English Language requirements page.
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 29th January 2025 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Ivan Kadurin AT i.kadurin@qmul.ac.uk Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.
Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.
For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.
Apply Online