Postdoctoral Research Associate

Fixed Term: 48 months, 1^st October 2024 – 30^th September 2028

Full time: 35 hours per week

We are looking for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to lead a project on the valorisation of polyester-derived terephthalic acid into high value flavour and fragrance molecules using strain engineering and biocompatible chemistry. The project will be based in the lab of Dr Joanna Sadler in the Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology (IQB3).

The Opportunity:

Post-consumer plastic waste is emerging as a promising feedstock for the circular bioeconomy. We and others have engineered de novo biosynthetic pathways in microbial hosts to convert waste polyester-derived small molecules such as terephthalic acid and 3-hydroxybutyrate into higher-value chemical products such as vanillin, catechol and acetone, which are currently synthesized directly from fossil fuels at industrial scale (Green Chem., 2021, 23, 4665-4672; ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2024, 12, 7748–7756). This approach holds huge potential to improve the sustainability of the plastics and chemicals industries, however the scope of chemicals accessible by biological pathways alone is limited by the biocatalysts available. This project aims to address this by developing novel and scalable enzymatic pathways and biocompatible chemistries to upcycle plastic-derived monomers into high value flavour and fragrance molecules via one-pot, chemo-enzymatic pathways that exploit the ‘best of both worlds’ of biocatalysed and abiotic chemistry (ChemBioChem2020, 21, 3489–3491, RSC Chem. Biol. 2021, 2, 1073-1083). 

This project is part of the Preventing Plastic Pollution using Engineering Biology (P3EB) Mission Hub. P3EB is a pioneering initiative aimed at transforming end-of-life plastic waste using cutting-edge engineering biology technologies. Working in partnership with industry, we will impart value into plastic waste, incentivising its recovery and retention, and so reducing the amount destined for landfill, for incineration, or being discarded into the environment.

The P3EB Mission Hub is a consortium of researchers and innovators assembled from the University of Portsmouth (lead), University of Edinburgh, Bangor University, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of Manchester and University College London. The initiative will receive £11.2 million from the “UKRI Technology Missions Fund” over the next 5 years. 

As a P3EB Mission Hub member, you will have access to training in cross-disciplinary topics such as intellectual property, AI, and responsible research and innovation. You will also have opportunities to visit collaborators’ laboratories, engage in interdisciplinary research and innovation, participate in regular online Researcher Forums, and attend Annual General Meetings of the Mission Hub at locations across the UK.

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• PhD in an appropriate biological science (e.g. biocatalysis, microbial biotechnology, bioorganic chemistry or a related discipline)
• Experience of engineering E. coli for small molecule production
• Experience of bioorganic and/or organic chemistry, including common analytical techniques such as HPLC and NMR spectroscopy. 
• Experience of developing, analysing and optimising new bioprocesses
• Enthusiasm for working in a multidisciplinary team at the interface of chemistry and biology

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