PhD position in protein-biopolymer interactions

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A three-year PhD position (with the possibility of extending the position by one extra year due to teaching activity) in the topic of “Investigating interactions between proteins and biopolymer surfaces” is available in the group of Assoc. Prof. Gaston Courtade at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

The goal of the position is that the PhD will complete a doctoral education programme and obtain a doctoral degree.

The PhD candidate will work on investigating interactions between proteins and polymer surfaces including cellulose, chitin, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The aim of the project is to understand how selected proteins (LPMOs, carbohydrate-binding modules, glycoside hydrolases, cutinase) bind to the surfaces of these polymers and to study how the binding event regulates enzymatic activity on the substrates.

The project is interdisciplinary and includes molecular biology (protein expression and purification, mutagenesis), solution-state and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, biophysical techniques [atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)], and molecular dynamics simulations.

You will report to Assoc. Prof. Gaston Courtade (https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/gaston.courtade)