PhD Student Position: Single-Molecule Biophysics of Protein Machines

Gilad Haran's group is looking for a highly motivated student to join our lab and explore the mechanisms of protein machines using single-molecule fluorescence techniques.

Many cellular proteins function as molecular machines—nanoscale engines that harness the energy from ATP hydrolysis to perform essential tasks. Our research focuses on protein quality control machines that help maintain cellular health by recognizing and salvaging misfolded proteins.

Key questions we aim to answer include:

• How do these molecular machines operate?
• How is chemical energy from ATP converted into mechanical work?

To investigate these questions, we label proteins with fluorescent tags and use high-resolution, single-molecule fluorescence assays to track their dynamics in real time. These rich data are analyzed using advanced statistical and computational tools to reconstruct the machines’ action cycles.

The project is highly interdisciplinary, integrating:

• Protein biochemistry and labeling
• Physical chemistry of proteins
• Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy
• Statistical modeling and data analysis

Your role:

As part of this project, you will:

• Express and purify your protein of interest
• Label it with appropriate fluorescent probes
• Perform single-molecule experiments
• Analyze the resulting data
• Build mechanistic models of the protein’s operational cycle

We welcome applications from students with a completed MSc thesis (or equivalent), ideally with a background in biophysics, biochemistry, physical chemistry, or a related field.

If you're excited about cutting-edge interdisciplinary research at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology, we’d love to hear from you!

https://www.weizmann.ac.il/chembiophys/cfharan/home