Do you enjoy working on interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of physics, chemistry, biology and computational science? Are you interested in using simulations and artificial intelligence to understand key molecular processes for human and planetary health? The Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) and the Informatics Institute (IvI) are looking for an ambitious PhD student to develop and apply an automated computational framework for the prediction of nanoplastic impact on protein function. This research will be part of the Computational Soft Matter Lab. 
 
At the molecular level, complex physicochemical processes can be understood in terms of free-energy landscapes, which map metastable states and pathways onto key system descriptors. These surfaces can be explored via advanced simulations; exploiting machine learning and data mining to find optimal descriptors and boost the sampling of functional dynamics. Most importantly, in silico we can predict changes in the shape of these landscapes, identifying valleys and channels sculpted by internal or external factors. You will work on predicting nanoplastic-induced changes to a protein’s free-energy landscape—i.e., structure and function—and collaborate with various computational and experimental groups to confirm your predictions. 

More info here.