Research Associate in Microbial Biotechnology

Contract type: Fixed-term (to 28^th February 2025)

We have an exciting opportunity for someone with a passion for natural polymers of bacterial origin looking to use their skills in the production of gamma-Polyglutamic Acid, a sustainable, biodegradable and biocompatible bacteria derived polymer, to make an impact on the sustainable materials world, especially for use in biomedical applications.

You will join the dynamic and internationally renowned group led by Professor Ipsita Roy (www.sheffield.ac.uk/materials/people/academic-staff/ipsita-roy), specialist in the area of Natural Polymers of bacterial origin, within the Biomaterials research group in the School of Chemical Materials and Biological Engineering. Professor Roy’s group is world leading in the area of Biomaterials with special focus on Biomaterials of bacterial origin including Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), Bacterial Cellulose, Gamma-Polyglutamic acid and Alginate; and their biomedical applications. Her group has pioneered the production of PHAs using Gram positive bacteria, hence producing PHAs that lack lipopolysaccharides and are non-immunogenic in nature, highly desirable for biomedical applications. These polymers are also biodegradable in the soil and marine conditions and can be used for sustainable environmentally friendly applications. Her group is now building up research using Bacterial cellulose, Gamma-Polyglutamic acid and Alginate.

You will be funded by a Royce Industrial Collaboration Programme Round 4 project “Production of Gamma-PGA, a novel natural sustainable and biocompatible biomaterial and their use in the development of hybrids for bone tissue engineering”. This project is in collaboration with Professor Julian Jones at Imperial College London, UK. This project involves the scaling up of the production of a bio based material, gamma-Polyglutamic acid, produced using renewable resources via bacterial fermentation. This material is highly biocompatible, biodegradable and undergoes controlled enzymatic degradation. The production of this polymer will be scaled up to 7L fermentations. This will then be purified using environmentally friendly green technology, minimising the use of solvents. Once purified, the polymer will be combined with silicates for the production of mechanically strong hybrids, particularly suitable for bone repair. The silicates will enhance the bioactivity of the material and will also allow 3D printing of the hybrid material, allowing the development of 3D printing of bespoke implants in the hospital setting. The Spin out company PHAsT will engage in carrying out the techno-economic analysis of this manufacturing process in addition to carrying out a market analysis to determine the current market for such materials.

The ideal candidate will at least have a PhD degree in Biochemical Engineering or a related area, with special focus on bacterial fermentations for the optimal production of products. It will be an added advantage if you have experience in Gamma-PGA via bacterial fermentation. You will be an enthusiastic, hardworking, organised, and dedicated scientist with the ability to efficiently plan and implement your work with high quality. You will be expected to have leadership qualities with the ability to enthuse and motivate members of the group to achieve to the best of their ability. You will also be expected to write high quality scientific manuscripts and to assist in grant proposal writing. You will need to be able to make high quality presentations at conferences to communicate the results achieved.

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