stillingsbetegnelse:
PhD scholarships in “RNA-based technologies for single-cell metabolite analysis”

jobbeskrivelse:
Metabolism is the foundation of all living organisms. While cells in a population are often phenotypically different, most of our current analytical approaches still probe metabolism only at the population level. Because strong evidence exists that metabolic cell-to-cell heterogeneity has, for instance, disease relevance, researcher from MetaRNA will overcome this severe analytical limitation through exploiting exciting opportunities emerging from the RNA field. Such synergy potential between the metabolism and RNA research fields has until today not been exploited, because they are separated from each other in Europe and worldwide. Through consequently missing research training programs we thus lack experts with combined knowledge in metabolism and RNA. The aim of the MetaRNA proposal is therefore to establish a European Training Network (ETN) that educates specialists for academia and industry - fully trained at the interface of these two fields - in the development and application of RNA-based sensors to investigate metabolism at the single-cell level, to apply these tools for novel biotechnological applications and to provide a framework for their future use in diagnostics and therapeutics. In MetaRNA, eight research groups from the metabolic and RNA fields and six partners from the private sector join forces to create a platform of mobility and training to 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs), by means of customized research projects, exchange of knowhow among researchers and partners, attendance to specialized courses, workshops and conferences, as well as training in complementary skills. Read more at http://www.metaRNA.eu At the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain) at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), we are seeking two PhD students to become part of the Phenotypic Selection and Stability group. The group is studying the usage of riboswitch- and transcription factor based metabolite sensors for applications in the field of synthetic biology. The activities range from basic research of understanding the underlying mechanisms and specificities to application of optimized sensors in industrial biotechnology. Responsibilities and tasks The goal of the project is to establish a European Training Network (ETN) that educates specialists for academia and industry – fully trained at the interface of these two fields - in the development and application of RNA-based sensors to investigate metabolism at the single-cell level, to apply these tools for novel biotechnological applications and to provide a framework for their future use in diagnostics and therapeutics. Project 10: A major obstacle during large scale fermentations is that heterogeneity develops within the population leading to suboptimal yields. Subpopulations that do not produce as much of the desired chemical take over the fermentation, since they are more fit than highly producing cells. We wish to characterize these processes from a population level and a single cell level using sensitivity biosensors and single cell genomics. Our goal is to understand the general paths that lead to such drift and develop new approaches to counteracting this evolutionary challenge. Project 11: We have deployed synthetic selection systems based on biosensors to couple cellular survival to production of a particular compound. Such systems are very useful for metabolic engineering projects in order to select compound producing cells from complex and diverse libraries. In order to apply this cellular technology to the optimization of biological cell factories it is necessary to develop general approaches by which the sensitivity of such synthetic networks can be tuned to gradually increase the production requirements. Using such systems we can continue to select for higher producing cells and thereby accelerate the development of cell factories. Preferred starting date: June/July 2015 Qualifications To qualify for a position as a PhD student in

Arbejdsgiver Navn: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet

Arbejdsgiver telefonnummer: 45252525

Arbejdsgiver faxnummer: 45881799

Job kort beskrivelse:
Undervisning og forskning på universiteter og højere læreranstalter

land: Danmark

region: Hovedstaden

Kontrakt varighed: Fast

Kontrakttype: Fuldtid

krævede uddannelse: Ikke angivet

Kilde til jobtilbud: AMS, Offentlige arbejdsformidlinger, Danmark