Studying the small proteins of the global microbiome

Overview

As part of an ARC Future Fellowship project awarded to Luis Pedro Coelho, we aim to study small proteins with the aim of better understanding them and laying the groundwork for exploiting them for biotechnological purposes. Small proteins (up to 100 amino acids, but often much shorter) have vital roles in all areas of life, but have been neglected in research due to lack of methods.

Particular projects in this topic include developing methods for determining function based on genomic context, validating predictions in the wet lab, or integrating the results of processing tens of thousands of metagenomes to understand the process better.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the supervisor to discuss potential projects that would be the best fit for their background and future interests.

Research activities

Research activities will depend on the exact project, but include:

• analysing public data using data science approaches in Python
• developing new algorithms or collaborating with others (both at QUT and external collaborators) who develop new algorithms
• testing effect of peptides on bacteria in the lab.

Outcomes

Outcomes include:

• tools for analysing small proteins
• new understanding of small protein functions
• scientific publications.

Skills and experience

You should have some experience in computational biology/bioinformatics (using a programming language such as Python or R) and interest in biology.

Applicants are expected to be interested in working in a collaborative environment where their projects intersect and synergise with others.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

• microbiome
• small proteins
• bioinformatics
• computational biology

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.