PhD Researcher in Enzyme Discovery and Machine Learning (Biotechnology, Remote)

Job summary

This fully funded PhD position focuses on the discovery and characterization of enzymes that can degrade urethane-containing micropollutants and microplastic analogs, utilizing bioinformatics, protein biochemistry, structural biology, and machine learning.

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in biochemistry, biotechnology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, or related fields.
• Experience in protein expression and purification, enzymology, biophysical assays, bioinformatics, structural biology, or machine learning.
• Strong programming or data analysis skills (e.g., Python, R) are advantageous.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Conduct bioinformatic mining of genomic databases to discover new AS enzyme families.
• Clone and express selected enzyme constructs in E. coli or Pichia pastoris.
• Purify enzymes and characterize their properties using various chromatography techniques.
• Perform kinetic and mechanistic characterization, including stability and binding studies.
• Develop machine learning models to predict enzyme-substrate interactions based on experimental data.

Skills

• Proficiency in biochemical and biophysical characterization techniques.
• Experience with data analysis and machine learning methodologies.
• Familiarity with structural biology techniques such as crystallography.

Education

• A two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or equivalent academic level.

Tools

• Bioinformatics tools, protein purification systems, chromatography equipment, and machine learning software.