PhD position: Bioprocess Engineering 2744 views

Wageningen University & Research invites applications for a PhD collaborative project in “Microalgae as a sustainable oil crop for food, feed and aviation fuels”. The successful candidate will join an active, interdisciplinary team and will be involved in collaborations on the field of microalgae and systems/synthetic biology.

About the PhD position:

• The scope of this project aims to enhance oil productivity in microalgal systems by gaining fundamental insights into the metabolic network of the cell and thereupon orienting synthetic biology approaches to model-based predictions.
• Part of this project will be focused on modelling the full metabolic network in the marine microalgal strain Nannochloropsis and find key regulatory nodes of the mutant lines with increased lipid productivities.

Specific tasks:

• Development of a genome-scale metabolic model and a model of key regulatory nodes for Nannochloropsis
• Analysis of mutant lines with increased lipid productivities traits
• Refinement of model by implementation of results obtained by the analysis of mutant lines and literature data
• Prediction of suitable genetic targets for further metabolic engineering

Requirements:

• Candidate is expected to be ambitious, curious and enthusiastic scientist and a team player devoted to research in both bioprocess engineering/microalgal biotechnology and synthetic/system biology.
• Candidate should be able to integrate (molecular) biology and computational disciplines.
• Candidate must have knowledge and affinity with bioinformatics tools and modeling; wet lab experience
• Applicant must have successfully completed academic study (MSc level; recognized in The Netherlands) preferably in Biotechnology, Bioprocess Engineering or Bioinformatics.
• Applicant must possess excellent communication skills and proficiency in English (spoken as well as written).

Duration: 1.5 years with extension of 2.5 years; temporary position

Applications:

Apply online