An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences as part of a £12 million BBSRC-funded Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), which brings together scientists and engineers from 10 leading UK institutions, alongside industrial collaborators, in a mission to enhance and develop the natural abilities of microorganisms to cleaning up our planet. For this opportunity, we are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow specialising in molecular microbiology, microbial biotechnology and/or synthetic biology to work on the development of recombinant bacterial strains for the production of biosurfactants and other recombinant bioremediation strategies for use in reducing chemical pollution (e.g. petrochemicals, plastics etc.) in natural environmental systems.
You will develop synthetic biology tools and transformation techniques for a wide range of bacteria of environmental importance and engineer strains for biosurfactant production and bioremediation, and do this with engineers and industrial collaborators, and test application of these strains in larger scale bioreactors and environmentally relevant locations. You will analyse and interpret data, write up results and present information on research progress and outcomes. You will also have the opportunity to contribute to grant applications and will be involved in the supervision of researchers and teaching of students within the PI’s group.
As the lead Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the project at Heriot-Watt University, you will have a strong background in environmental microbiology, molecular biology, and recombinant DNA technologies. The ability to consider interdisciplinary scientific approaches is a key strength. The role requires some fieldwork effort. You must be able to work independently, have strong organisational skills, and thrive in seeking solutions to a variety of challenges. You will be enthusiastic, outgoing, and able to work as part of a larger team including other postdocs, technicians, and PhD researchers.
You will hold or expect to be awarded within 3 months of appointment, a PhD in a relevant research area. Specifically, we are looking for applicants with strong expertise in plasmid and bacterial mutant generation, although skills in enzyme characterisation and compound quantification using techniques such as GC-MS would be an advantage. You will also have experience of independent research, have publications in respected journals or equivalent within the field and be able to work in a proactive and results driven manner in a high paced environment.
Contact for enquiries: Expressions of interest, other queries and applications should be sent by email to A/Professor Tony Gutierrez (tony.gutierrez@hw.ac.uk). Applications should consist of a single PDF (including a cover letter, CV, publication list, and names of 3 references).