post-doc position on affinity ligand development at the Dutc

[milenessantos]

DSTI (Dutch Separation Technology Institute) is a partnership in which industry, universities and knowledge institutes work
closely together to develop breakthrough technologies for application in different sectors of the process industry.
“Together we can take bigger steps, have more impact, and share the risks”.
So far, 45 companies from the Food, Pharmaceutical, Oil and Gas, Chemical and Process Water Industries, including 8 knowledge
centers, have joined DSTI. The estimated budget is EUR 65 million for the next 5 years. The research program covers all aspects
from (fundamental) knowledge generation to technology implementation.
DSTI is looking for a: Post-Doctoral researcher
Development of novel affinity ligands for peptides/proteins and oligosaccharides
Project description
The biotechnology field is a fast moving area in which
large peptides and proteins play an important role.
Expression and harvesting of these peptides/proteins
takes place in the Upstream Processing (USP) part of the
process, whereas the purification of the desired (clinical)
product takes place in the Downstream Processing (DSP)
part.
Much effort in the USP area has recently resulted in
increasing expression levels of therapeutic
peptides/proteins in different organisms to increase the
production efficiency and reduce cost price of newly
developed target compounds.
In the DSP area new developments have hardly been
implemented in the past 10-20 years. Only optimizations
of current technologies were evolved. Therefore, this part
of many biotechnology processes is becoming the
bottleneck for an efficient production of new compounds.
Separation occurs mainly by chromatographic resins.
Increased cycle time and multiple purification steps are
needed to selectively separate the target products.
For that reason it is highly desirable to develop new
technologies for selective separation of large
peptides/proteins from a complex mixture such as a
fermentation broth.
This research project aims at developing new affinity
ligands, a technology that uses highly selective, very
stable scaffold proteins in order to enable fast and
efficient isolation, concentration and purification of
valuable compounds in a single step at large scale. Within
the project, we have a position available for a postdoctoral
researcher, whose main task will be the
generation of a library of variant binding proteins, and the
development of an efficient high-throughput screening
method. He/she will work in a team consisting of two
other post-docs and a technician.
Job requirements
You have recently obtained a PhD-degree in the field of
protein- and/or metabolic engineering. Experience and
competence with standard molecular genetics techniques
is a prerequisite. Experience with laboratory evolution
and phage display is considered an advantage. The postdoc
is expected to independently conduct research, write
reports, and draft manuscripts for publication. To this
end, he/she must have excellent written and oral English
communication skills. The candidate should be willing to
start on short notice (early 2011).
Job offer
We offer an academic Post-Doctoral position for 1 year.
You will be member of a multidisciplinary research group
of senior scientists, post-docs, and PhD students and you
will have access to state-of the art facilities and
equipment. Your salary will be in line with the Dutch
standards for Post-docs. Furthermore, you will benefit
from the opportunity to do research that is of industrial
relevance. At last, you can expect extra support towards
your next career step within the DSTI network and
benefit from other attractive secondary labor conditions.
Application
Your application must include information about
education, scientific work and previous work experience
(CV) and publications. It must also include a letter where
the applicant describes his or her motivation for
conducting a post-doc in this field, and name and address
of at least two references. Certified copies of relevant
diplomas, testimonials, and other relevant documents
must be attached.
Closing date
31-12-2010

Contact:
recruiting@dsti.nl or DSTI,
attn. Daniella Vrijling,
P.O.Box 247, 3800 AE Amersfoort
www.dsti.nl
DSTI will be renamed to ISPT
(Institute for Sustainable Process Technology)