Master's Thesis Opportunity

Experimental thesis projects in synthetic biology for nanobody engineering.

The Biology Laboratory of the Scuola Normale Superiore (Bio@SNS) offers opportunities for experimental Master's thesis projects for students interested in conducting research in the fields of molecular biology, synthetic biology, and synthetic immunology. The thesis project will provide hands-on research experience at the Bio@SNS Biology Laboratory and the opportunity to contribute to innovative projects in the fields of biotechnology, synthetic biology, and protein engineering.

Research projects will focus on:

  • Selection of intracellular antibodies using Yeast Two-Hybrid and Bacterial Two-Hybrid screening platforms;
  • Evolution and optimization of intracellular antibodies using artificial intelligence-based models, followed by in vitro validation in mammalian cells;
  • Development and application of methods for protein inhibition or targeted protein degradation in mammalian cells;
  • Recombinant protein production from bacterial cultures.

  • Molecular biology techniques (molecular cloning, Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, ELISA, and related methods);
  • Culture and manipulation of engineered yeast and bacterial strains;
  • Mammalian cell culture;
  • Yeast and Bacterial Two-Hybrid screening technologies.

  • Chirichella M, Lisi S, Fantini M, Goracci M, Calvello M, Brandi R, Arisi I, D'Onofrio M, Di Primio C, Cattaneo A. Post-translational selective intracellular silencing of acetylated proteins with de novo selected intrabodies. Nature Methods. 2017;14(3):279-282.
  • Cattaneo A, Chirichella M. Targeting the Post-translational Proteome with Intrabodies. Trends in Biotechnology. 2019;37(6):578-591.

How to Apply

Students interested in applying are encouraged to contact Prof. Francesco Raimondi for further information and to arrange an informal interview.

Contact Us

For informal inquiries please write to: francesco.raimondi@sns.it