PhD Bioware Engineering towards Sustainable Biomanufacturing

Are you a highly motivated researcher and enthusiastic about synthetic biology? Are you interested in the industrial aspects and applications of biotechnology as well as the prospect of an interdisciplinary project on biomanufacturing? If you feel excited about high-throughput genome engineering and game-changing metabolic rewiring, we would like to invite you to apply for this exciting PhD position within our team!

What are you going to do?
The bio-intelligent approach, main pillar of the EU-funded project “BIOS”, aims to accelerate and improve the conventional ‘design-build-test-learn’ (DBTL) cycle for integrated strain and bioprocess engineering underpinning. The offered PhD position will be part of “BIOS”, in which extensive interdisciplinary collaboration will happen bridging microbiology, molecular biology, biochemical engineering with informatics, automation engineering and mechanical engineering.

Specifically, the PhD candidate will be mainly part of the Bioware Engineering part of BIOS, which encompasses the implementation of novel, automatable, high-throughput tools, devices, and workflows for strain engineering. Parts of the Hardware section of the project will also be included such as adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) and valorization of cellular traits in biomanufacturing processes. To demonstrate the power of BIOS, the challenging classes of sesquiterpenoids, polyolefins, and methacrylates will be targeted as sustainable bioproducts and the industrially attractive host Pseudomonas putida KT2440 will serve as microbial chassis. The main tasks of the PhD candidate will include translation of novel genome editing, silencing and regulation tools into standardized, automatable procedures and workflows, smart rapid prototyping, and acceleration of the experimental check of model-guided strain design, filling the gap between conventional lab scale and today’s biofoundry technologies.

We are looking for a PhD candidate who is keen to perform state-of-the-art, original, and collaborative research in the aforementioned project. The candidate is expected to publish the research findings in leading international academic journals, but must also communicate well across disciplines, project partners and stakeholders (e.g ., industrial partners, government, philosophers). The candidate will also be involved in the supervision of MSc and BSc students who perform their thesis research within the framework of the project.

You have:

• a successfully completed MSc degree in Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Molecular Life Sciences, or in a relevant related field;

• basic molecular biology, genetic engineering, and metabolic engineering skills;
• experience utilizing high-throughput and/or automation for strain engineering in synthetic biology or industrial biotechnology will be highly appreciated;
• flexible, agile, and solution-oriented mindset;
• highly innovative and creative mindset and brilliant collaborative skills;
• excellent communication English skills (C1 level).

For

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment . A few highlights from our  Collective Labour Agreement include:

• study leave and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.443,- per month rising to € 3.122,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “ Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 17th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief , known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

Do you want more information?
For more information about this position, please contact Prof. Vitor Martins dos Santos by email: [email protected] .
For more information about the procedure, please contact Ina Lüttmann, HR adviso, by email: [email protected] .

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly by uploading your CV and motivation letter, using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.
This vacancy will be listed up to and including Wednesday November 2nd 2022. We hope to schedule the first job interviews at the end of November 2022. The envisaged starting date for this position is January 2023 (although earlier start is possible).
Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. For more information please go to our inclusivity page . A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment .

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

The research is embedded within the chair Bioprocess Engineering (https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/agrotechnology-and-food-sciences/bioprocess-engineering.htm ), and member of the Biomanufacturing and Digital Twins team, which is led by Prof. Vitor Martins dos Santos (https://www.wur.nl/nl/Personen/Vitor-prof.dr.ir.-VAP-Vitor-Martins-dos-Santos.htm ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitor-a-p-martins-dos-santos-15b96a40/ ) You will be co-supervised by Dr. Enrique Asin Garcia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/enriqueasingarcia/ ).

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!