Vrije Universiteit Brussel
2011 call for applications for a
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Brussel
Senior Research Fellowship
"Antimicrobial and bioactive peptide evolution in amphibians"
starting 1 October 2012
Rector's Office
R&D DEPARTMENT
Vacancy number: WE/2011/015
Tel. : +32 (0)2 629 21 08
More information on the topic and research environment
Fax : +32 (0)2 629 36 40
for publication on the
call's webpage:
http://rd-ir.vub.ac.be/en_GB/news/show/id/2009
THEME "Antimicrobial and bioactive peptide evolution in amphibians"
Keywords: Amphibians, molecular evolution, toxinology, antibiotics, pharmacology
1. The research group
The Amphibian Evolution Lab was founded a decade ago by Franky Bossuyt. Within this period, the
research group has built up a strong reputation regarding the study of various aspects of amphibian
evolution using molecular phylogenetic techniques. Throughout the years, the research topics evolved
from taxonomy and natural history, to deep-time phylogenetics, historical biogeography, modern
biodiversity patterns in tropical regions (e.g. the Indian Western Ghats and the South American
pantepui region), evolutionary developmental biology (e.g. the evolution of Hox genes, the
development of digital pads) to functional genomics (e.g. the evolution of keratins). Since 2007, the
lab has extended its research focus to amphibian skin physiology, chemical communication (Sex
pheromones) and antimicrobial peptides, addressing various ecological, evolutionary and molecular
genetic questions related to these topics. This development has culminated in several high-impact
publications (Science, Current Biology, Mol. Biol. Evol.) and the successful application for a European
Research Council grant. The current research topics are now being divided over independently
operating, but closely collaborating teams:
1) Pheromones en Biodiversity
2) Ecophysiology of Amphibians
3) Antimicrobial and bioactive peptides in amphibians
In order to maintain a world-class position in herpetological research, each of these teams should be
led by a senior researcher. The present call for applications is related to the third research topic
mentioned above.
2. Research expectations
The Amphibian Evolution Lab is searching for a senior researcher to build up a research team focusing
on the study of bioactive and/or antimicrobial peptides found in the skin secretion of amphibians. The
candidate is free to select his/her own specific research objectives but integrative subjects, with
relevance to multiple biological disciplines (e.g. biochemistry, evolutionary genetics, ecology,
immunology) are encouraged. Examples of research objectives include:
1) Discovering new bioactive and antimicrobial peptides in amphibian skin secretions.
2) Investigating the evolutionary and genetic mechanisms that underlie the diversity of AMPs in
amphibians.
3) Screening and selecting amphibian bioactive and antimicrobial peptides for their applicability as lead
molecules in the development of new therapeutic agents.
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4) Investigating the regulation of bioactive and antimicrobial peptides in response to stress and
infections and addressing to what extent the latter are integrated in the amphibian innate immune
system.
3. Research environment and collaborations
Although the team led by the selected candidate is encouraged to investigate individual topics within
the Amphibian Evolution Lab, there will be ample opportunity to collaborate with the other two lab
teams. The molecular techniques in particular are expected to be similar among the three different
topics. In addition, the Amphibian Evolution Lab is closely collaborating with several other research
units within the University’s Sciences faculty, together representing a multidisciplinary field of
expertise:
- Microbial Interactions (for antimicrobial tests),
- Structural Biology (for structural analyses of peptides),
- Cellular Immunology (for recombinant protein expression, hemolysis assays and cytotoxicity tests)
- Organic Chemistry (for chemical optimization of promising antimicrobial peptides)
Furthermore, ongoing collaborations between the Amphibian Evolution Lab and other research teams
in Belgium and worldwide include the following research groups:
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology of Leuven University.
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Leuven University.
- Protein Service Facility, Department for Molecular Biomedical Research of Ghent University.
- Lab for Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology, Ghent University.
- Venom Evolutionary Laboratory of the University of Queensland, Australia.
- Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
The selected candidate will have the opportunity to take advantage of these existing collaborations to
pursue his/her own research objectives but is equally invited to start new collaborations as he/she
sees fit.
4. Contact and further information
Additional information can be obtained from professor Franky Bossuyt (Franky.Bossuyt@vub.ac.be).
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