We’re recruiting for a postdoctoral researcher to be based at our Open Plant Laboratory directed by Professor Jim Haseloff to help develop new synthetic biology tools for engineering metabolism in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha. Salary: £33,309-£40,927
A position is open for a postdoctoral researcher based at the OpenPlant Laboratory in Cambridge in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and directed by Prof. Jim Haseloff. The appointee will help develop new synthetic biology tools for engineering metabolism in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha. Previous work with Marchantia has established efficient methods for genome modification
We are looking for a highly motivated research scientist to work in this area. The position is available as a full-time position until the end of January 2024. The successful candidate will assist in the development of Marchantia as an experimental platform for engineering the production of terpenes by (i) elevating production of precursors, (ii) installing novel terpene biosynthetic pathways and (iii) triggering ectopic formation of oil cells to increase levels of bioproduction.
We aim to integrate these approaches to tackle metabolic engineering at the scale of the whole organism, to build new biosynthetic pathways and to integrate these into the metabolism, cellular body plan and life-cycle of a model plant. The appointee’s work will be supported by a full time research assistant (to be appointed). The work will benefit from collaboration with Dr. Facundo Romani and colleagues in the Haseloff laboratory, and is part of a wider, jointly funded collaboration between the laboratories of Prof. Anne Osbourn (John Innes Centre), Dr. Nicola Patron (Earlham Institute) and Dr. Jenny Molloy (Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge).
The successful candidate will have a strong background in plant molecular biology, biochemistry or synthetic biology, including a PhD degree in a relevant area. Experience with DNA manipulation, Marchantia, plant biochemistry, molecular biology or microscopy will be advantageous.
The work is funded by UKRI as a transition award as part of the National Engineering Biology Programme, following foundational work in OpenPlant, a BBSRC-EPSRC funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre. The work of the OpenPlant research centre has focused on the development of open foundational technologies for plant synthetic biology and their application for engineering new traits in crop systems. The initiative promotes two-tier intellectual property models to accelerate innovation, global sharing and responsible innovation
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 January 2024 in the first instance.
Click the ‘Apply’ button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
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 PD30922 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.
Further information
Apply online Closing date: 3 May 2022