Eukaryotic Signal Transduction

We see, hear and feel; therefore we are! How about our cells? They feel the environmental changes with proteins called receptors and initiate molecular signaling processes. We are particularly interested in a eukaryotic receptor family, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs are therapeutically important as they are targeted by more than 1⁄3 of the marketed drugs. The GPCR evolution has yet to be identified precisely. If we succeed to understand the complex evolution of this receptor family we will have a better understanding of the function and importance of each residue of each subfamily. This project aims to build high-resolution phylogenetic trees and analyze the evolutionary events.

We expect the following:
1) Coding skills (Python or R) are required, unix skills are prefferable.
2) Interest in molecular biology.
3) The internship will be held on campus.
 
It is a good idea to write a motivation letter and send to oadebali@sabanciuniv.edu to increase your admission chances. Your preference priority list will be taken into account in our decisions.