We are searching for a master student that is interested in spider silk protein biochemistry for a master thesis project in Anna Rising’s lab at the Department of Animal Biosciences. Could this be you?
We are searching for a master student that is interested in spider silk protein biochemistry for a master thesis project in Anna Rising’s lab at the Department of Animal Biosciences. Could this be you?
Spider silk is one of the toughest materials that is produced in nature, and makes up a promising material due to the combination of renewability and biodegradability and good mechanical properties. Interestingly, native spider silk consists of multiple protein components and many of these components have unknown function. The master thesis project will focus on the isolation and functional characterization of spider silk proteins with unknown function.
The methods will include expression of recombinant spider silk proteins in bacteria, yeast and possibly mammalian cell cultures. Different chromatographic methods will be used to separate the proteins, as well as analytical methods to assess purity, identity and yield such as SDS PAGE, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and UV spectrophotometry. Furthermore, the project might include microscopy on spider silk glands ex vivo and purification of native spider silk protein using native silk glands as a starting material.
In the lab, we are a group of around 10 people that are working on several projects that are focused at improved production of artificial spider silk-based materials as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the natural process of spider silk production. The environment is collaborative and friendly.
This project is suitable for a veterinariy student.
If you think this sounds interesting, don’t hesitate to reach out to elin.cb.karlsson@slu.se for questions regarding the project.