Molecular Simulations of HIV-2 protein VpX

Our research group is primarily engaged in the investigation of protein dynamics and mechanisms with applications to intrinsic immunity and viral response, HIV therapeutics and enzymatic catalysis. The Ph.D project involves research into a retroviral protein called VpX that enables immunodeficiency retroviruses such as  HIV-2 to counteract the host cell defences. The project involves using molecular dynamics simulations to get a mechanistic understanding of the interaction between the mammalian protein SAMHD1 and the retroviral protein VpX which could pave the way for the development of a new generation of anti-HIV drugs. The student will learn state of the art molecular simulations techniques and a variety of data-mining techniques that will enable them to process the trajectories.

Skills Required: An interest in modelling and simulations is required. Coding skills in any language is desirable .