Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)

The Department of Plant Sciences is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate to contribute to the discovery and production of bioactive natural products with utility in agriculture. The successful candidate will join the Patron Lab funded by a new Global Centre for the Bioeconomy with collaborators in the USA, Canada, UK, Japan and South Korea. We will provide a supportive research environment with an emphasis on personal development, research excellence, integrity, and respect. 

This post is available for 4 years.

Role overview

The candidate will investigate proposed metabolic pathways using a range of bioinformatic, molecular biology and biochemistry skills to identify and functionally characterise candidate enzymes. They will also apply synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to the reconstruction and optimisation of biosynthetic pathways in heterologous hosts, including the plant production chassis, Nicotiana benthamiana.

Key skills 

The successful candidate will have a PhD in metabolic engineering, plant molecular biology/biotechnology, or natural product biochemistry. They will have a thorough understanding of specialised metabolism and approaches used in metabolic engineering and experienced in the design and assembly of constructs for engineering organisms and the use of mass spectrometry for the identification and quantification of metabolites. Ideally, they will have experience in engineering plants, including the use of agroinfiltration. 

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 4 years in the first instance.

Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.

Please quote reference PD44589 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

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