PhD studentship

A PhD position with fellowship for well-qualified candidates to work on an ICMR-funded RNA therapeutics project in the Department of Biological Sciences at SRM University - AP, Amaravati is available. RNA therapeutics is an emerging area of research with about eighteen drugs in the market and hundreds more in the pipeline or clinical trial. After the successful application of the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 in the Western countries, there has been a growing interest among investors and funding agencies to support research on RNA therapeutics. The total revenue of the global RNA therapeutics market was around $13.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach about $18 billion by 2028.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a debilitating disease observed in about 1 in 10000 births. Type I SMA patients have a life expectancy of up to 2 years at birth while type II patients have a life expectancy of 20-40 years. SMA is caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene rendering the gene nonfunctional. The human genome has a paralogue of SMN1 gene called SMN2. However, during splicing, exon 7 of SMN2 precursor transcript is primarily skipped due to a C6U transition in the exon. This truncated mRNA cannot produce a functional SMN protein. The aim of the project is to design an ASO that will rescue the splicing of SMN2 precursor transcript. There are three RNA or gene therapeutic drugs to treat SMA but all of them cost around or more than $1 million per dose. Therefore, it is of utmost urgency to develop SMA-treating drugs through alternative pipelines. We have recently identified a novel component of the mammalian splicing code and we will apply that knowledge to characterize and potentially rescue SMN2 splicing through a novel approach. The methodology will primarily involve techniques of molecular biology and biochemistry.

Interested candidates should check the PI profile on SRM University - AP website (https://srmap.edu.in/faculty/dr-kaushik-saha/) and contact via email.

SRM University - AP is a 8-year young university, which has achieved the status of third best private university in India according Nature Index based on the research output. All our PhD students are on either various external fellowships such as CSIR, UGC, INSPIRE, or institutional fellowship.

Qualifications

• Strong research and analytical skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty members
• 4-year Bachelor's degree or Master’s degree in a field of Biological Sciences
• Experience in molecular biology is beneficial
• Valid CSIR NET result