PhD student postions offered

We are looking for two highly motivated PhD students to be integrated into the group of Industrial Biotechnology, at the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, division of Life Sciences. Research on microorganisms and enzymes performed by the Industrial Biotechnology group aims at actively contributing to the creation of the sustainable energy and chemical industry of the future. One of the important concepts for the achievement of this goal is the biorefinery, in which value-added products, chemicals, fuels and power are obtained by fractionation and conversion of biomass.

More information about our activities at Industrial Biotechnology can be found at http://www.chalmers.se/chem/EN/divisions/industrial-biotechnology.

The complete add and application instructions can be found at http://www.chalmers.se/insidan/EN/news/vacancies

PhD student in “Fermentation of Biorefinery Streams”

Job description

The collaborative project in which the work of the PhD student will be included aims at developing robust bioprocessing steps for the production of materials and energy from biomass. As part of such project, the PhD student will concentrate on the fermentation of different biorefinery streams, generated by innovative biomass treatments. The initial, primary task of the project will be the production of second-generation ethanol by fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Fermentability of the substrates generated by the other project partners will be investigated, as well as maximum ethanol productivity and yield. Since lignocellulosic material can be a very challenging substrate for the fermenting microorganism, the impact of different substrates on yeast metabolism will be investigated. Possibly, once the crucial traits necessary for highly productive fermentation will be identified, superior improved strains, tailored for the fermentation of various biorefinery streams, will be generated.

Required qualifications

The candidate should have a M.Sc. in biotechnology, bioengineering or a corresponding curriculum. Experience of performing fermentation studies with yeast in bioreactors is advantageous. A PhD student in our group is expected to work relatively independently, have the ability to plan and organize his/her own work, to be able to work in close collaboration with other group members and partners in research and to be able to communicate scientific results, both orally and in written form in English.

PhD student in “Enzyme production and hydrolysis of biorefinery streams”

Job description

The project aims at enzyme production and hydrolysis of different biorefinery streams, generated by innovative biomass treatments (performed by our collaborative partner). The enzyme production part of the study will aim at investigating how the enzyme profile of a filamentous fungi depend on growth conditions and in particular the composition of the selected biorefinery streams. Transcriptome studies will be included to study the global responses and allow insight to the cellular physiology. In the second part of the project, the relation between the enzyme profile and the enzymes ability to hydrolyse cellulose will be studied. This part of the work will also look into the structural changes of cellulose under hydrolysis and aim to spread light on why biomass are recalcitrant to enzyme hydrolysis. Detailed structural analysis will be performed in collaboration with Innventia.

Required qualifications

The candidate should have a M.Sc. in biotechnology, bioengineering or a corresponding curriculum. Experience in enzyme technology and/or fermentations will be considered advantageous. A PhD student in our group is expected to work relatively independently, have the ability to plan and organize his/her own work, to be able to work in close collaboration with other group members and partners in research and to be able to communicate scientific results, both orally and in written form in English.