Post-doctoral researcher in biotechnology of filamentous fungi

The Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science (KBM) at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has vacant a 3-year position for a post-doctoral researcher in the field of fungal biotechnology. The position is part of a newly established Norwegian research center for “Industrial Biotechnology”.

The activities in the center cover all aspects of industrial biotechnology, from finding novel enzymes to developing fermentation processes, in close cooperation with industrial partners.

One important task is to develop fungal expression systems for efficient production of enzymes, and this is the focus of the vacant position.

The research center consists of four research partners and about 15 industrial partners, and the postdoctoral researcher is expected to interact well with the center partners, combining fundamental research with more applied research topics.

Main tasks

  • Establishing fungal biotechnology at NMBU, with particular focus on establishing/adopting an efficient fungal expression platform
  • Optimizing expression strains through genomic manipulation (e.g. making knockout strains)
  • Produce enzymes in fermentors
  • Enzyme purification, characterization and in-depth studies of selected enzymes
  • Produce high-level scientific publications

These tasks will be conducted in a vibrant research environment with multiple ongoing projects in applied and fundamental enzymology, funded by, for example, the Norwegian Research Council (NFR), The Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), and the European Research Council (ERC). The postdoctoral researcher to be hired is supposed to interact with several of these projects and will thus contribute to a broad range of research activities and the resulting scientific publications.

Competence

The main purpose of the post-doctoral position is to qualify for work in high-level scientific positions. A PhD degree is required.

Required academic qualifications:

  • PhD degree in biotechnology or bioprocess technology
  • Training and research experience in fungal biotechnology
  • Experience with cloning in fungal hosts
  • Good research performance during the PhD and, if applicable, as a post-doctoral researcher in an academic or industrial research setting, preferably documented by high quality scientific publications

The following experiences and skills are desirable:

  • Experience with bioinformatics
  • Experience with cultivation of filamentous fungi
  • Knowledge of CRISPR/CAS technologies
  • Experience with advanced enzymology
  • Experience with running fermentations in bioreactors

Personal qualities:

We are looking for a candidate who is ambitious, curious and motivated to work in a strong research environment. The ideal candidate will combine the following personal qualities:

  • Hard-working, ambitious and accurate
  • Creative and independent
  • Genuinely interested in scientific research and its industrial applications
  • Good social and collaborative skills
  • Good communicative skills, orally and written, in English, and, preferably in a Scandinavian lanuage
  • Practical skills

Remuneration and further information

The postdoctoral position is placed in government pay scale position code 1352 Postdoctoral Fellow, wage framework 24 (salary grade 59-77), (NOK 526.000-744.600), depending on qualifications. Seniority promotion in position.

For further information, please contact professor Vincent Eijsink at vincent.eijsink@nmbu.no or professor Svein Horn at svein.horn@nmbu.no, or check out the web-pages for the research groups:

https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/kbm/research/groups/pep

https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/kbm/research/groups/btb

general Information to applicants

Application

To apply for this vacancy, please go to www.jobbnorge.no and register a new user if necessary. Then, find the position, and click the ‘Apply for this job’ button. This will route you to the online application form.

Application deadline: 14.02.2021

Fill in the required personal information and the application letter. For simplicity, you do not have to complete the academic CV in the online system. Instead, upload your complete CV as a pdf file along with an application letter, degree certificates and transcripts of academic records.

Applicants invited for an interview will be asked to present verified copies of diplomas and certificates.

About The Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science

The KBM faculty is located at Ås Campus, 30 km south of Oslo, and has approximately 160 employees spread over 12 research groups. We have a wide research portfolio in organic chemistry and biochemistry, including organic analysis, biological activity of organic molecules, fermentation technology, fundamental and applied enzymology, and enzyme discovery at the cross section between chemistry and biotechnology.

In the past decade, KBM has become a world leading environment for enzyme research, with good research infrastructure and good funding. The current position is placed in the research group for Proteomics and Protein Engineering (PEP).

Further information: https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/kbm

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