The Bioseparation Engineering Group at the Technical University of Munich is looking for a PhD student to work on the separation and purification of growth factors for the production of cultivated meat. The three-year project will be carried out in collaboration with the TUM Professorship of Cellular Agriculture and the Wacker Chemie AG. The main goal is the development of processing strategies and an evaluation platform for growth factors to be used for cultivated meat.
Our part is a combination of upstream and downstream processing for the production and isolation of the growth factors, while our partner will work on optimizing the cultivation and producing the 3D-scaffolds. Our working packages include (a) the expression and production of the growth factors on a lab scale using E. coli and (b) all types of downstream methods, e.g., filtration and chromatography, for the recovery of the targets. One particular focus will be set on affinity chromatography using tags and low-cost matrices, e.g., silica-based materials.
The Technical University of Munich is one of Europe’s leading higher education institutions and has consistently been awarded high ranks in worldwide assessments. The Chair of Bioseparation Engineering, founded in 2009, is a vibrant, interdisciplinary, and diverse academic team collaborating and innovating in downstream processing and integrated processing. Beside classical process development, a main research field is the separation of biotechnologically produced molecules with a strong focus on process engineering.
Requirements:
– A master degree in e.g. (Pharmaceutical) Bioprocess Engineering, Industrial Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering
– Excellent oral and written communication skills
– Ability to prioritize work to meet deadlines, supervise students, and work autonomously to reach the project goals
Further valuable experience:
– A background in understanding biochemical interactions, coupling chemistry, and development of preparative chromatographic steps
– Background in separation methods, especially extraction, filtration, and chromatography
– Practical experience in the lab, preferably with analytical methods like HPLC, cross-flow filtration, and chromatographic working stations (e.g. ÄKTA systems)
– Experience within a multi-disciplinary research environment
Payment will be based on the Collective Agreement for the Civil Service of the Federal State (TV-L, 100 %). TUM strives to increase the number of women in its workforce and explicitly encourages applications from qualified women. Applications from disabled persons with essentially the same qualifications will be given preference
If you are interested in joining our dynamic team, please provide a full CV including a motivation letter, transcripts, and references and send your complete application to Friederike Eilts, f.eilts@tum.de and/or Paula Fraga, p.fraga@tum.de
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