Working as part of multi-disciplinary teams, you will support the Principal Investigator in delivery of research activity on the "Enzymatic upcycling of textile waste into biodegradable mycelium leather”. We are seeking a highly committed, motivated and creative scientist to join the research team on this new BBSRC funded research project. The project will involve omics-enabled discovery of key enzymes, protein engineering, optimisation of recombinant protein expression, and enzyme assays. The ultimate goal of this research is to investigate and develop enzyme cocktails capable of degrading waste textiles in to a substrate for fungal mycelium growth. The post is a fixed term for 21 months.

This Research Project is being delivered within the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE, www.bbe.ac.uk) is a £8M initiative between Northumbria and Newcastle Universities. HBBE develop biotechnologies to create a new generation of buildings which are responsive to their environment, grown using engineered living materials, metabolise their own waste, and modulate their microbiome to benefit human health. The HBBE is based in the Department of Applied Sciences (https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/applied-sciences).

Applicants should hold a PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry or related subject and have demonstrable specialist expert knowledge in protein expression, purification and assay development. Expertise in "Omics" based enzyme discovery is also desirable. You should be able to work independently and as part of a team, and also present multitasking abilities. Excellent communication (written and oral) and organisation skills are essential. 

Further information about the requirements of the role is available in the Person Specification.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact ‘Paul.B.C.James@Northumbria.ac.uk’.

We welcome applications from the UK and across the world.