Keegstra Postdoctoral Researcher - Molecular Biology, Enzymology
Location: Michigan State University
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Position Summary
A postdoctoral researcher position is available in our labs at Michigan State University, as part of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) under the prestigious Keegstra Bioenergy Research Fellowship Program. We seek a motivated candidate to join the Brandizzi lab (Plant Research Laboratory), in collaboration with the TerAvest lab (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) to engineer plant enzymes responsible for the synthesis of cell wall glucans with the goal to increase the levels of C6 sugars in situ.
This project tackles a new challenging area for biopolymer engineering by harnessing cutting-edge predictive approaches for protein engineering. The project will lead to the discovery of fundamental principles for targeted plant protein engineering and biopolymer production to increase capture and storage of atmospheric CO2 and decarbonize fuel and chemical industries through improved access to sustainable carbon sources. The research objectives are to establish the key features underpinning the enzymatic activity of plant glucan synthases and produce glucans with features that reduce their digestibility in muro.
The research will require extensive protein prediction modeling, bioinformatics analyses, and bioengineering using in vitro and high-throughput assays. It is anticipated that the research will make significant contributions to the GLBRC goals to harness bioenergy crops as advanced factories to generate clean, renewable, and sustainable biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials.
The candidate will be responsible for
- Designing the research
- Conducting the wet lab experiments and in silico predictions
- Presenting the work at lab meetings and scientific conferences
- Preparing reports and written manuscripts
- Preparing a plan for the research in a form of a proposal as required for this position
Required Degree
Doctorate -Molecular Biology, Enzymology, Computational Biology, Biochemistry, or related fields.
Candidates must be within 3 years of PhD graduation and a PhD must be granted by the start date.
Minimum Requirements
- Strong written and oral communication skills to collaborate and communicate effectively with a team of researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds
- Ability to work with enzymes and related techniques
- Ability to work or intention to learn to use protein prediction software
- Ability to work with yeast
Desired Qualifications
- Bioengineering of enzymes
- Experience with Alphafold
- Knowledge of yeast and plant molecular biology
Interested candidate must apply through Careers @ MSU website (Job posting #969506)