Research Opportunity Number: CBE-01

Project Title: Discovery of Peptide Natural Products

Project Summary: This project will start with bioinformatic investigations into new members of a family of natural products called ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides or RiPPs for short. In the Link lab we are generally interested in RiPPs with either bioactivities (ie antibiotic activity), novel chemistry, or both! 

Following the identification of interesting potential RiPPs via the bioinformatic pipeline, we will use synthetic biology to attempt to produce the RiPPs. This project is good for a student who has interest in biology and chemistry and is also able to do some coding.

Student Roles and Responsibilities: Coding in Python, synthetic biology, polymerase chain reaction, recombinant DNA techniques, E. coli transformation, protein purification, mass spectrometry.

Additional Considerations: Appropriate for student who has had coursework (and strong interest) in chemistry and biology. Some experiments are in living bacteria, so student should be able to commit to full days if possible.

Department/Institute: Chemical and Biological Engineering

Participation Dates: June 2 – August 8, 2025

Stipend Offered: $0

Number of Internships Available: 0-1

Application Deadline: March 15, 2025, midnight Eastern Daylight Time