OpenPlant seeks a Laboratory Research Technician (Fixed Term)

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A position is open for a Research Technician in the OpenPlant Laboratory in Cambridge, based in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, under the direction of Prof. Jim Haseloff.

Work there will focus on the development of foundational technologies for engineering of the model plant Marchantia polymorpha. The newly renovated laboratory houses state of the art equipment for automated DNA assembly, genome editing, plant transformation, cytometry and high throughput microscopy.

The appointee will work closely to the OpenPlant Laboratory Manager and the successful candidate will be involved in: - Assisting in the maintenance of the lab and providing general laboratory support work. - Supporting plant transformation and tissue culture workflows in a high throughput environment. - Providing technical support for microbiological, molecular biology and microscopy experiments in a synthetic biology lab.

The successful candidate will have a background in molecular biology or synthetic biology, and demonstrate an ability to work independently. Experience with tissue culture procedures, plant work, synthetic biology techniques, microscopy, and laboratory management will be advantageous.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 2 September 2019 in the first instance.

OpenPlant Post-doctoral Research Associate position (deadline 22 Dec)

Applications are invited for a Post-doctoral Research Associate position in the group of Dr Sebastian Schornack at the Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU), Cambridge University, to study early descendant land plants.

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The position is part of the OpenPlant (http://openplant.org/) project. OpenPlant is a BBSRC-EPSRC funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory Norwich. The successful candidate will benefit from engagement with laboratories in all partner organisations.

Along our group's general interest in understanding principles of plant colonisation by filamentous microbes, the candidate will study filamentous pathogen interactions with liverworts and hornworts. Main model organisms will be the Agrobacterium-transformable liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and related species. The successful candidate will develop new molecular biological and genetic resources (in particular TAL effector activators and repressors) to modulate gene expression in early descendant plants (e.g. Liverworts/hornworts). The candidate will be provided with horticultural/technician support and will be able to team up with post docs studying plant-microbe interactions in angiosperms.

Candidates must have, or be close to completing, a PhD in Plant Biology, Plant Biotechnology, or related field. Knowledge of modular cloning strategies such as GoldenGate cloning is essential. Previous experience with synthetic biology and/or TAL effector assembly as well as handling of sterile plants, Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation or knowledge on plant-microbe interactions, is desirable. Also desirable is previous experience with liverworts, hornworts or other early descendant plants. Proficiency in sequence analysis, general biological databases, qPCR analysis and confocal fluorescence microscopy is also required.

The successful candidate will be fully involved in the basic research in these areas whilst also writing up their research work for presentation and publication. The post holder may be required to assist in the supervision of student projects, provide instructions to students and deliver seminars relating to their research area.

Good communication skills are essential as the post holder will need to work well in a team and collaborate with other researchers in the Institute. Candidates would ideally have published or submitted papers in this area. Candidates should demonstrate a history of science communication (e.g. presentations, outreach activities, teaching).

The Laboratory provides a welcoming and collaborative environment with a wide-range of family-friendly benefits and development opportunities. More about the Sainsbury Laboratory, generic further information for the role and details of what the University offers to employees, can be found at: http://www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance.

Job: Lectureship in Synthetic Biology

The Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology and Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems (ICOS) research group are recruiting a tenured track Lectureship/Senior Lectureship (Assistant or Associate Professor in the American system) in

Synthetic Biology/Nanotechnology. Early applications are encouraged.

For informal enquires please contact the CSBB director, Professor Natalio Krasnogor.

Read more details about and how to apply for this exciting post.

ZuvaSyntha scientist and business development vacancies (based in BioPark Hertfordshire)

More info in the ZuvaSyntha website ZuvaSyntha is a young and exciting UK SME working in the rapidly expanding Industrial Biotechnology sector. Recently formed through the merger of BioSyntha Technology Ltd and ZuvaChem LLC, we are developing novel microbial-based routes to renewable intermediate and specialty chemicals.

ZuvaSyntha is planning to expand and seeks to appoint outstanding candidates for the following roles:

• Business Development Manager
• Senior Biochemist
• Scientist/Senior Scientist in Molecular Biology and Strain Development

Postdoc vacancies at SynthSys, Edinburgh (close mid- to late-July 2015)

More info from SynthSys website

Molecular microbiologist position at Synthace

More info and to apply We require a molecular microbiologist, ideally experienced in the genetic manipulation of a diversity of microbial species.

We’re looking for someone who will thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic atmosphere, acting on their own initiative to solve complex problems. Candidates will need a PhD or equivalent experience and a strong track record of delivering high quality, quantitative results in a commercial or academic environment.

Synthace is committed to transforming the productivity of bioengineering through automation, computation and mathematics, so a willingness to work in a highly disciplinary environment and embrace cutting edge working practices is essential. Experience with automation or coding is an advantage.

SynthSys Mammalian Postdoc (closes 20 July)

More info at SynthSysEd website A highly motivated and talented Postdoctoral Research Associate is invited to join the laboratories of Dr. Abdenour Soufi and Prof. Susan Rosser at the University of Edinburgh to develop novel synthetic Biology tools for Cellular reprogramming applications. This is part of SynthSys Mammalian, which is a BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), hosted by the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.

We are particularly interested in the interaction between transcription factors and chromatin during the conversion of human fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) (Soufi et al; Cell 2015, Soufi et al; Cell 2012). This collaborative project will focus on engineering synthetic transcription factors and will employ a wide range of techniques including; synthetic DNA-assembly and high-throughput-cloning, engineering synthetic transcription factors such as TALEs and ZFGs, human stem cell culture and lentivirus production, Next Generation Sequencing based techniques such as ChIP-seq, recombinant protein purification, DNA-protein interaction analysis such as EMSA and DNase-footprinting.

The successful candidate requires a PhD (or soon to be awarded) in an appropriate discipline with clear evidence of independent research capabilities. Knowledge and past experience in synthetic transcription factors, cellular reprogramming, stem cells and epigenetics are highly desirable.

The post is full-time for a fixed term of 3 years.

Junior Interdisciplinary Fellowship (Wellcome Trust/University of Cambridge - closes 22 July 2015)

Full details are available via the University of Cambridge.

The scheme is aimed at suitably qualified post-doctoral candidates with backgrounds in the physical sciences (incl. engineering, mathematics and computer sciences) who wish to gain experience in the application of their research to solve problems in the basic biological and biomedical sciences.

The fellowships are intended to provide opportunities for award holders to gain experience in applying biological approaches, and/or apply novel theoretical or experimental techniques from the physical sciences to address biological problems. In addition, it is hoped that this scheme will foster longer-term collaborations between Principal Investigators from the physical and life sciences disciplines within the University of Cambridge.

Research projects must fall within the broad remit of the Wellcome Trust. The research must be undertaken in laboratories within the School of the Biological Sciences or the School of Clinical Medicine.

Exceptionally, applications from post-doctoral candidates with a background in the life sciences wishing to gain experience working in the physical sciences may also be considered. However, this is not the core focus of the Scheme and it is expected that the host lab has a proven track record of life/physical sciences interdisciplinary research. A non-exclusive list of such labs can be found here: http://www.physbio.group.cam.ac.uk/members.html.

KTN: Synthetic Biology Special Interest Group Lead (closes 19 June 2015)

The Knowledge Transfer Network is a non-profit organisation that is funded by Innovate UK to be the UK’s innovation network across a wide range of sectors. Our main role is to bring together businesses, entrepreneurs, academics and funders to develop new products, processes and services. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to join our team to deliver the strategy and activities of the synthetic biology special interest group which was set up to help translate the world-leading research in the UK into commercial applications and to deliver the key recommendations of a strategic roadmap.

More info on the position via the KTN Jobs site

Research Associate/Fellow – Mathematical/Computational Modelling, Nottingham SBRC (closes 18 June 2015)

The aim of the post is to provide research support for the BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC) in the creation and exploitation of gas fermenting microbial chassis as it relates to the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels.  SBRC Nottingham is one of three UK centres created by the BBSRC/EPSRC in 2014 and has received £14.3M in funding for a 5 year period. We are recruiting exceptional post-doctoral researchers to join the modelling and analysis team. The team will conduct cutting edge research into novel computational and mathematical modelling and analysis approaches and development of an integrated software suite to facilitate the rapid development of microbial chassis able to produce a range of platform chemicals. We seek individuals who will focus on biochemical/synthetic biology modelling, whose responsibilities will include development of synthetic biology devices and modelling of biochemical pathways. More info from jobs.ac.uk