Job Number
BU03815
School/Department
School of Environmental & Natural Sciences
Grade
7
Contract Duration
12 months
Responsible to
Professor in Biology (Biotechnology)
Overview
The School of Environmental and Natural Sciences (SENS) is part of the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Bangor University, which is one of the leading centres in the UK for teaching and research in an extensive range of science subjects. We aim to educate and train a new generation of scientists aware of societal and environmental needs in a world-class research-led environment. Core research interests of SENS include molecular ecology and evolution, cell and genome science, environmental microbiology and biotechnology, public health surveillance and plant and soil science.
The Project
The post holder will become a key member of the P3EB project and CEB (The Centre for Environmental Biotechnology), a £8.6 M research capacity building project supported by the European Regional Development Fund/Welsh European Funding Office and co-funded by Bangor University.
The P3EB project is funded by the UKRI (BBSRC) Technology Missions Fund and runs for five years starting from February 2024. The P3EB research hub brings together 23 co-investigators from seven UK universities including Bangor University, who will use synthetic biology, biotechnology, and engineering approaches to address the pressing challenges of environmental plastic pollution and recycling by coupling engineering biology with protein biochemistry and other complementary disciplines.
The Bangor University team involved in the P3EB project is led by Prof Peter Golyshin and focuses on the discovery of novel plastic active enzymes from extreme environments and engineering them for enhanced plastic depolymerisation and bioconversion to other products. The successful candidate will be working side-by-side with staff active in Environmental Microbiology (Prof Peter Golyshin) and Enzyme Discovery (Prof Alexander Yakunin).
Other ongoing CEB projects include mining the extremophilic microbial diversity and biochemical characterisation of new enzymes for the bioconversion of plastic deconstruction products to novel polymers and valuable chemicals.
Purpose of the Job
The post is part of an established team working in environmental microbiology, enzyme discovery, and bioremediation at the Centre for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB). The post holder will be responsible for supporting the PI and Co-Is at Bangor and conducting, analysing and publishing experimental studies in relevant research areas.
The research outcomes will include enhanced grant capture and high-quality peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals.
The post will also facilitate the use of highly specialised CEB equipment by academic staff of Bangor University to enhance overall grant income and improving research outputs of core CEB staff.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Research
1. Leading research on the discovery, characterisation, and engineering of novel polyester degrading enzymes for potential applications in plastic waste recycling and upcycling.
2. Conducting research on activity-based screening, biochemical characterisation, and protein engineering of selected polyester-degrading enzymes for applications in recycling and bioconversion.
3. Applying protein engineering tools enhancing polyesterase activity and stability.
4. Establishing and optimising quantitative protocols for polyester degradation product analysis.
5. Working closely with P3EB Project team and CEB staff (Golyshin, Yakunin) in key aspects of the P3EB project, including taking a lead in selecting novel experimental methods for protein engineering.
6. Coordinating research on enzymatic polyester degradation and protein engineering within the P3EB project.
7. Planning, prioritising and organising the research and resources in order to meet the P3EB objectives and operate withing financial targets.
8. Taking responsibility for the maintenance of enzyme resources and infrastructure and reporting progress to the Bangor P3EB team.
9. Performing analysis of data produced in the P3EB project for the preparation of research papers and patents.
10. Writing research papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals about the outcomes and findings resulting from the P3EB project.
11. Conducting research on the identification, isolation, and characterisation of novel polyesterases.
12. Identification and quantitation of enzyme reaction products using various approaches (HPLC, spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry).
13. Providing assistance in training for CEB students and staff in polyesterase assays and protein engineering.
Administration
14. Administration responsibilities including participating in project meetings and taking the lead in specific tasks.
15. Assisting in supervision of undergraduate, Research Masters and PhD students.
Other Duties and Responsibilities
16. The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.
17. The post holder will be expected to comply with the University’s equality policies and statements, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Scheme.
18. The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
19. The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.
Person Specification
Qualifications/Training
Essential
20. A PhD degree (or be near completion) in biochemistry, molecular biology, or microbiology.
Experience/Knowledge
Essential
21. A strong background in enzymology and experience with enzymatic and protein engineering tools for carboxylesterases and polyesterases with publication records.
22. Strong expertise (with publication records) in polyesterase assays and reaction optimisation for polyester depolymerisation, as well as in site-directed mutagenesis.
23. Broad experience in carboxylesterase product analysis and identification of polyester degradation products using quantitative methods.
24. Strong expertise in enzyme stability analysis and optimisation.
25. Experience in preparing research papers for publication, as well as scientific presentations and reports.
26. Experience in collecting experimental data and maintaining data records (ensuring confidentiality, data security and backup).
Desirable
27. Experience in co-supervising and training graduate students and junior researchers.
28. Experience in ligand docking analysis for polyesterases.
29. Experience in enzymatic plastic degradation.
30. Good organisational skills in the context of conducting projects within a specific timetable.
Skills/Abilities
Essential
31. Demonstrate good verbal and writing skills.
32. Demonstrate ability to work as part of a team with good interpersonal skills.
33. Demonstrate good analytical skills, ability to analyse polyesterase activity and polyester degradation kinetics and present results appropriately.
34. Demonstrate the ability to prioritise work load and work to deadlines.
35. Demonstrate an understanding of the bilingual nature of the institution and the surrounding area, along with the associated responsibilities.
Desirable
36. Demonstrate proven project management skills.
37. Demonstrate good computer skills, including bioinformatics tools and software for sequence analysis, structural enzyme analysis, and enzyme kinetics (e.g. Geneious, FastTree, Chimera, Autodock, Prism).
General
We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.
All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.