Molecular design of drugs to fight chronic human diseases and environmental pests

Development of drugs for human benefit, whether to cure human diseases or safeguard our food resources and environmental assets, must begin with the design of bioactive lead molecules.

This research program will investigate platform technologies for engineering of novel proteins, which are actively pursued by many emerging biotechnology industries.

This is an excellent opportunity for a PhD candidate to explore cutting-edge technologies for design of bioactive proteins to fight chronic human diseases or environmental pests.

Your project

You will choose one of the following major application areas of national importance:

• Next-generation anti-cancer drugs
• Antimicrobial agents to fight infection
• Bio-friendly drugs to control agricultural pests
• Natural proteins to prevent crown of thorns starfish outbreaks

A typical project will involve use of protein structure to design new drugs. You can choose to use either computational design tools or molecular libraries to screen massive numbers of drug leads. This is often followed by characterisation of structure and activity using biophysical, biochemical and/or biological assays.

You'll be immersed in a leading research institute and international team at UQ, supported by an Australian Centre of Excellence and nationally funded research programs.

This is an Fellowship support scheme scholarship project that aligns with a recently awarded Australian Government grant.

The scholarship includes:

• living stipend of $36,400 per annum tax free (2025 rate), indexed annually
• your tuition fees covered
• single overseas student health cover (OSHC).

Learn more about the Fellowship support scheme scholarship.

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis taking into account your:

• academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

You'll demonstrate academic achievement in biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology and the potential for scholastic success.

You'll have a working knowledge of:

• peptide and protein structure and function
• molecular cloning
• protein expression and purification
• computational structural biology
• protein and ligand binding interactions.

A background or knowledge of peptides and proteins is also highly desirable.

This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 3, 2025. To allow time for your application to be processed, we recommend applying no later than 31 March, 2025 31 December, 2024.

You can start in an earlier research quarter. See application dates.

Before you apply

1. Check your eligibility for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
2. Prepare your documentation.
3. Contact Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au) to discuss your interest and suitability.

When you apply

You apply for this scholarship when you submit an application for a PhD. You don’t need to submit a separate scholarship application.

In your application ensure that under the ‘Scholarships and collaborative study’ section you select:

• My higher degree is not collaborative
• I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship
• UQ Earmarked Scholarship type.

Apply now