陆芷文

Two CSC PhD positions in Biophotovoltaics at the Department of Solar Materials, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research – UFZ, GermanySample Text

Project description

The two PhD projects are available in the group of Systems Biotechnology in SOMA. The two projects will work on the highly interdiscipilinary concept of Biophotovoltaics (BPV) from the aspects of microbiology, molecular biology, systems biology and bioelectrochemistry.
Your Tasks
PhD 1 Electromicrobiology: the PhD candidate will be screening different strains of cyanobacteria and mutants thereof for interactions with an electrode and light-driven current output. Selecting superior strains will lead into process optimization a knowledge-based engineering of the microbes for improved perfomance, this might involve heterologous production of membrane proteins.
PhD 2 Systems biology: The PhD candidate will focus on quantitative characterization of Cyanobacteria in BPV under the different conditions. The candidate is expected to develop our BPV reactor setup into an on-line platform to quantify the effects of an extracellular electron sink (anode) on the cyanobacterial physiology and metabolism. This will require to couple the BPV systems with online measurement tools such as membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) and to apply ‘omics analyses.

Your Profile

The PhD 1 candidate should have a master’s degree in molecular biology, microbiology or equivalent fields. Previous experience with Cyanobacteria or membrane protein expression is not essential but will be an asset. The PhD 2 candidate should have a master’s degree in biochemistry, microbiology, analytical biochemistry, bio-electrochemistry or equivalent fields. Experience with pure culture-based bio-electrochemical system or quantitative biology will be beneficial.
Both candidates should have strong interest in scientific research documented by excellent academic achievements. The candidates should be self-motivated and capable of critical thinking, work independently, but also keen to work in an international and interdisciplinary team. The successful candidates must demonstrate their English proficiency level by IELTS (minimum overall score of 6.5 with each sub-band of >=6.0) or TOEFL (minimum overall score of 90 with minimum of 21 in writing, 19 in reading, listening and speaking).

We Offer

The candidates will be supervised by a top-level interdisciplinary team which enjoys an excellent reputation within Germany as well as internationally. Prof. Andreas Schmid is a fellow of the National Academy of Science and Engineering of Germany (ACATECH) and represents Germany in the Section Applied Biocatalysis (ESAB) of the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB). He is Board member of the Biotechnology Section of DECHEMA and of the Working Group Biotransformations of the German Association of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (VAAM). Dr. Jens Krömer, the group leader of Systems Biotechnology, has 18 years of experience in systems biotechnology, bioanalytics and modelling and eight years in bioelectrochemistry, and Dr. Bin Lai has over ten years interdisciplinary experience of (bio)electrochemistry, biochemistry and analytic biochemistry.

The UFZ research center and SOMA department are equipped with world-level top-end technical facilities for scientific research, especially with the newly funded H2-Saxony center of 3.3 million Euro budget for research equipment, and provide excellent links to national and international research networks. Your will receive support and optimal training courses by our graduate school (HIGRADE) as well as numerous lectures and seminars from top scientists invited by different departments at UFZ. With our international office and family office at UFZ, you will also receive unparalleled support regarding personal and family issues in Leipzig.

Selection procedure

For interested students, please send a motivation letter and your CV to Dr. Jens Krömer (jens.kroemer@ufz.de) and Dr. Bin Lai (bin.lai@ufz.de). The selected candidates will then be contacted for individual Skype interview in January or February 2020. These PhD positions at UFZ are conditional on CSC funding. Successful candidates will be expected to apply for a CSC scholarship and projects will only start upon granting of the scholarship.

Contact

For further information regarding the projects please contact Dr. Jens Krömer (jens.kroemer@ufz.de) or Dr. Bin Lai (bin.lai@ufz.de).