PhD: AI-Driven Protein Bioavailability in Microbial Foods

Technical University Of Denmark; Denmark; On-site; DKK 360,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

BRIGHT – The Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition at DTU invites applications for a PhD student position in computational modelling of protein and nutrient bioavailability of microbial foods.

The project sits within BRIGHT’s Microbial Foods initiative and aims to build a multi-modal AI/ML system to predict digestibility and bioavailability of proteins and micronutrients.

Qualifications

• MSc in bioinformatics, computational biology, machine learning, computer science, food science or a related area
• Advanced programming experience in Python
• Experience with machine learning, including deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
• Excellent English proficiency in written and oral form
• Excellent communication and social skills for working within an interdisciplinary research team
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work independently

Responsibilities

• Review the state-of-the-art in protein bioavailability, covering digestion, absorption and assimilation, with a focus on microbial foods
• Build a multi-modal AI/ML model that predicts protein digestibility and bioavailability, combining protein language model embeddings with nutritional composition data and benchmarking against DIAAS and ileal digestibility datasets
• Create and curate a database of selected microbial foods, for example, Yarrowia lipolytica and Aspergillus spp.
• Model proteolytic digestion and the absorption of peptides and amino acids and small molecules including transporter-mediated uptake
• Test and refine the model against proteomics and metabolomics data for single microbial proteins and whole microbial cells
• Retrain the model with in vitro digestion data and with clinical trial data generated by our experimental partners
• Apply the model to the computational redesign of microbial foods for improved bioavailability, and release it as an open-source tool
• Report your research results in peer-reviewed scientific publications and international conferences
• Collaborate within BRIGHT as well as our local, national and international networks
• Disseminate your results through scientific publications, public engagement and social media
• Teach and supervise MSc and BSc students

Skills

Python programming

Machine learning

Deep learning

English proficiency

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Analytical skills

Education

MSc in bioinformatics / computational biology

Tools

PyTorch

Job description

BRIGHT – The Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition at DTU invites applications for a PhD student position in computational modelling of protein and nutrient bioavailability of microbial foods.

The project sits within BRIGHT’s Microbial Foods initiative and aims to build a multi-modal AI/ML system to predict digestibility and bioavailability of proteins and micronutrients.