PhD Studentship: Quantum Biophysics & Protein Design

University of Exeter; Exeter; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Exeter invites applications for a funded PhD studentship that aims to engineer biological qubits converting spin signals into cellular responses. The project fuses open quantum spin dynamics with deep-learning protein design to form an in silico directed-evolution pipeline, supervised by LSI and NPL experts.

The scholar will use ColabDesign, ProteinMPNN and DFT-based methods to explore new protein scaffolds, enabling nanoscale quantum sensing inside living cells.

Qualifications

• Experience with open quantum spin dynamics and Bayesian uncertainty.
• Familiarity with de novo protein design and AI-based sequence generation.
• Strong programming skills in Python and MD/simulation workflows.

Responsibilities

• Develop an in silico directed evolution pipeline for biological qubits.
• Integrate multiscale simulations with AI-powered protein design tools.
• Collaborate with LSI and NPL teams for experimental direction.

Skills

Open quantum spin dynamics

Generative AI design

Molecular dynamics

Bayesian uncertainty

Education

Pursuing PhD in biophysics/chemistry/computational biology

Tools

ColabDesign

ProteinMPNN

DFT

Job description

The University of Exeter invites applications for a funded PhD studentship that aims to engineer biological qubits converting spin signals into cellular responses. The project fuses open quantum spin dynamics with deep-learning protein design to form an in silico directed-evolution pipeline, supervised by LSI and NPL experts.

The scholar will use ColabDesign, ProteinMPNN and DFT-based methods to explore new protein scaffolds, enabling nanoscale quantum sensing inside living cells.