14502 - Postdoctoral Research Associate

Grade UE07

£41,064 - £48,822 per annum

CSE / School of Chemistry

Full-time

35 hours per week

Fixed-term

2 years

Help us redefine what’s possible. Be part of something bigger. Are you PASSIONATE about making a difference?

The Opportunity

We are seeking to recruit a post-doctoral scientist to join the Campopiano group in the School of Chemistry to develop biocatalysts that convert low value, carbon-containing waste molecules into high value chemicals. This exciting opportunity will see you design methods to isolate and characterise a range of recombinant, active biocatalysts. You will use these to develop HTP screens to optimise the conversion of substrates to products in high % conversion. Where necessary, you will use modern protein design/engineering tools to generate libraries of biocatalyst variants with improved properties. Where appropriate, you will develop methods to combine biocatalysts and chemocatalysts into efficient synthetic routes. At the same time, you will screen a range of microbes to isolate novel biocatalysts that can catalyse novel chemical reactions. You will use protein characterisation methods to characterise, clone and express these novel biocatalysts.

The Campopiano group has published a range of biocatalyst-driven approaches to produce numerous target molecules. This exciting new role requires you to act as a key member of the UKRI-funded Carbon-Loop Sustainable Biomanufacturing Hub (C-Loop). You will work closely with a range of C-Loop scientists in the BioFactory to transfer the in vitro biocatalytic cascades into suitable microbial hosts. You will also explore the use of waste substrates and investigate their conversion to the target molecules both in vitro and in suitable microbial hosts.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering flexible working patterns.