PhD Student - Department of Biotechnology

Last application date Jul 28, 2024 00:00

Department LA25 - Department of Biotechnology

Contract Limited duration

Degree You hold a Master’s degree in Bioscience Engineering, Biochemistry, Biotechnology or Biomedical Engineering from one of the countries of the EU, the EER or Switzerland

Occupancy rate 100%

Vacancy type Research staff

Job description

BioPort is a young and dynamic research group composed of 6 researchers at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Centre for Synthetic Biology of Ghent University focussing on the emerging research line of extracellular transport over biological membranes related to Industrial Biotechnology and SynBio. We work on several fundamental and applied aspects of microbial transport systems to promote compound membrane crossing in a synthetic biology context (check our website at https://csb-bioport.mystrikingly.com and www.csb.ugent.be). You will be hired on a project named “Waste oil to long-chain dicarboxylic acids (WODCA)”. The overall goal of WODCA is to create new, sustainable, fair-cost long-chain dicarboxylic acid (LCDA) fractions or monomers from lipid waste relevant to specific industrial applications. For this we will use a novel and adapted non-pathogenic yeasts in an optimized fermentation process relying on used cooking oils, followed by an innovative membrane-based purification to deliver LCDAs of high purity appropriate for several applications of interest to Flemish companies. The emphasis of your research will be on strain engineering and synthetic biology. 

If relevant, we will support your personal application for a FWO PhD fellowship strategic basic research or FWO PhD fellowship fundamental research with deadline of March 1st 2025. Obtaining such a scholarship will allow you to extend your research time and priority could be given to candidates willing and entitled to apply for such scholarship. More information on these PhD-scholarships can be found on the webpages mentioned below:
http://www.fwo.be/en/fellowships-funding/phd-fellowships/phd-fellowship-strategic-basic-research/
http://www.fwo.be/en/fellowships-funding/phd-fellowships/phd-fellowship-fundamental-research/

Some requirements related to these scholarships:

• You have obtained your master degree with at least ‘distinction’ (cum laude), and no longer than 3 years ago calculating from 01/03/2025
• You have not previously received a FWO fellowship (not even in part)
• At deadline of submission (01/03/2025), you have no more than 18 months of scientific experience

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• Your contract will start on September 1, 2024 at the earliest.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by the Department of Personnel and Organization based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits (in Dutch).

Job profile

• You hold a Master’s degree in Bioscience Engineering, Biochemistry, Biotechnology or Biomedical Engineering from one of the countries of the EU, the EER or Switzerland
• Experience with molecular biology and microbiology is essential
• Experience with industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology or biochemistry is a plus
• Being fluent in English is essential, knowledge of Dutch is a plus
• You proved to have scientific maturity and independence
• You are creative, can think out of the box and have a pioneering spirit
• You are able to deal with failure
• You are a team player and smooth communicator

How to apply

Send your CV (including study results, thesis research topic, contact information of possible referee persons and a recent picture of yourself), copy of your diploma and a motivation letter to csb.recruting@ugent.be. Please use the reference WODCA_PhD. We do not accept late applications.

If your application is incomplete or if you are not meeting the essentials of the job profile, you will not receive an answer.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Dr. ir. Inge Van Bogaert (IngeVanBogaert@ugent.be, +32(0)9/264 60 34).