Matthew Blakeley

Short Biography

Dr Matthew Blakeley joined Institut Laue-Langevin in 2017, where he is an instrument- and research scientist responsible for the neutron macromolecular crystallography beamline LADI-DALI. He is also part of the in the Large Scale Structures Group at the same facility. His scientific research focuses on macromolecular crystallography using neutrons and X-rays, and the development of neutron crystallographic techniques, methods and instrumentation. Prior to joining ILL, he spent three years as a postdoctoral research scientist at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

Matthew Blakeley obtained his PhD in X-ray and neutron protein crystallography at The University of Manchester in 2003, where he he investigated neutron protein crystallography of lectin-saccharide interactions.

AMBER postdoctoral fellowship subject (SECOND call)

Visualization of hydrogen atoms in carbohydrate-binding proteins and their complexes.

Protein-carbohydrate interactions are involved in the first step of many infectious processes. Many pathogens (bacteria, viruses and fungi) recognize sugar epitopes present of glycolipids and glycoproteins on host tissue as the first step of infection. On the other hand, many human lectins such as the ones of the dendritic cells, recognize fragments of bacterial cell wall polysaccharide as the first step of innate immunity process. A detailed structural knowledge of the interactions may serve as the basis for the design of new inhibitors that could act as alternative strategies to antibiotic treatment in some infections. This call is for a 3-year full time Postdoctoral research project, focused on using single crystal neutron diffraction techniques in combination with other structural biology techniques, in order to visualize important hydrogen atoms in carbohydrate-binding proteins and their complexes. At the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), the world’s most powerful steady state neutron source, advanced beamlines for neutron crystallography are available (LADI and DALI) along with dedicated laboratories for the production of fully deuterated proteins (D-Lab). Researchers from the Glyco@Alps network at the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) and Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolécules Végétales (CERMAV) have expertise in production of recombinant human and microbial lectins, respectively. In addition, certain saccharides (and their analogs) can be produced in deuterated form via a synthetic biology approach, in collaboration with CERMAV (see Gajdos et al., 2021, Glycobiology 31, 151; Gajdos et al., Nat. Commun. 13, 194). Moreover, the Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB) on the European Photon and Neutron (EPN) Science campus provides a unique environment for state-of-the-art integrated structural biology with access to many technical platforms for sample production, biophysical characterization and structure determination.

Applicants should have a PhD in structural biology/chemistry, with excellent knowledge of biochemistry and molecular biology, including experience in protein expression, purification and crystal growth. Experience in single-crystal diffraction techniques would be desirable. Applicants should demonstrate their ability to develop and conduct high-quality research, both in a team and independently.

Location: Grenoble, France

Organisation: Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Large Scale Structures Group

Links

AMBER call in EURAXESS main call (starting point for application)

Guide for applicants

Matthew Blakeley’s Profile on ILL's website

Large Scale Structures Group at ILL (website)

Info about employment at the ILL