Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Plant Molecular Biologist

• Institute for Molecular Bioscience

• Join a university ranked in the world’s top 50

• Collaborate with highly awarded, world-class colleagues  

• Genuine career progression opportunities via our academic promotions process  

• Based at our picturesque and Vibrant St Lucia Campus

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged. 

At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. UQ has made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

About This Opportunity 

Two postdoctoral positions are available in Malaria drug development at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. The successful candidates will contribute their knowledge of plant biology and skills in molecular biology and biosynthesis to produce next-generation medicines for malaria in plants. You’ll be working as a member of a team to develop lead peptides into potent and safe antimalarial drugs and explore ways to develop an affordable and scalable production pipeline. This transformative project has the chance to greatly expand on current treatment options available for diseases like malaria in regions with economic challenge.

You will have access to our state of the art plant growth facility, the Clive and Vera Ramacotti Facility for Producing Pharmaceuticals in Plants, and work alongside structural biologists and medicinal chemists. We have a strong network of collaborators including members of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, making this an exciting and supported place to work on developing and producing novel peptide-based antimalarial drugs.

We are seeking outcome driven scientists who want to affect change by developing and optimizing the biosynthetic production of therapeutic peptides. The position is advertised at Level A, but we will consider Level B candidates if they have demonstrated experience in plant molecular farming, especially scale production of heterologous peptides or proteins.

 Key responsibilities include:  
1. Research

• Produces quality research outputs by publishing or exhibiting in high quality outlets. For Level B, undertake a lead role in some outputs.

• Work with colleagues in the development of joint research projects and applications for competitive research funding. For Level B, contribute as chief investigator role.

• Contribute to progressing towards transfer of knowledge, technology and practices to research end users through translation.

• Develop a coherent research program and an emerging research profile.

• Review and draw upon best practice research methodologies.

• For Level B, develop an independent and/ or team research program to achieve national recognition and impact.

2. Supervision and Researcher Development

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Honours and HDR students (as appropriate). For Level B, demonstrate an effective track record of supervision of HDR students.

• As appropriate, manage research support staff effectively in accordance with University policy and procedures.

This is a research focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance. 
 
This is a Full-time, 100% FTE Fixed-term position until April 2025 at Academic Level A or B, with the possibility of future renewals. For applicants seeking a fractional appointment an 80% appointment can also be considered.

At Academic level A the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $77,324.85 - $102,945.12, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $90,470.08 - $120,445.79 annually. As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases – at least once a year.
 
At Academic level B, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $108,201.26 - $128,201.75, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $126,595.47 - $149,996.05 annually. As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases – at least once a year.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad:  from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process. 

About You  

Essential

• PhD in plant and/or synthetic biology, where previous work experience in a similar role will be considered favourably

• Strong knowledge of plant biology

• Advanced molecular biology skills

• Expertise in recombinant production of peptides or proteins (essential for role 1, desirable for role 2)

• Transient transformation of plants (role 1)

• Genome editing to produce stably transformed plants (role 2)

• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and also independently on research projects

• Excellent oral and written communication skills with evidence of publications in reputed refereed journals and conference presentations

Desirable

• Experience applying for and managing gene editing regulatory approvals and maintaining biosecurity records

• Scale production of heterologous peptides or proteins in plants

• Experience in developing peptides or proteins as therapeutic molecules

• Knowledge of antimalarial drug development and requirements

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 

• Mandatory Immunisations: It is a condition of employment for this role that you will be required to provide evidence of immunisation against certain vaccine preventable diseases. 

• Background Checks: All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits. 

Questions? 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Professor David Craik [email protected] .

For application queries, please contact [email protected]  stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.
 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Resume

• Cover letter Responding to the ‘About You’ section

Other Information 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion .  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity, LGBTQIA+, cultural and/or linguistic, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, or people with a disability. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to [email protected] . 

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Tuesday 19 March 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (R-36064).