Postdoc: Engineered Fluorescent Probes for Biofilms

The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Environmental Microb; Aalborg; On-site; DKK 420,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Environmental Microbiology at Aalborg University invites applications for a full‑time postdoctoral researcher to engineer fluorescent probes targeting exopolysaccharides in microbial biofilms. The role emphasizes protein engineering, cloning, expression and imaging in complex communities.

Applicants should hold a PhD in biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, biotechnology or related fields, with

Qualifications

• PhD in biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, or a closely related discipline.
• Hands-on experience in molecular cloning, recombinant protein expression and purification, and protein engineering.
• Strong understanding of protein structure–function relationships.
• Experience with site-directed mutagenesis, carbohydrate-active enzymes, biochemical binding assays, or fluorescent protein labeling.
• Experience in microbiology, bioinformatics, metagenomics, and transcriptomics would be an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate fluorescent molecular probes based on catalytically inactive glycanases for exopolysaccharide imaging.
• Engineer enzymes to retain binding while losing catalytic activity; perform cloning, expression, purification, and labeling.
• Collaborate with microbiology and bioinformatics teams; identify relevant enzymes and integrate into probe pipelines.
• Apply probes to study spatial organization of exopolysaccharides in microbial communities using fluorescence imaging and FISH.
• Plan experiments, analyze data, and contribute to publications; coordinate with Aalborg University and external collaborators.

Skills

Molecular cloning

Recombinant protein expression

Protein engineering

Site-directed mutagenesis

Biochemical binding assays

Fluorescent protein labeling

Microbiology

Bioinformatics

Metagenomics

Transcriptomics

Education

PhD in biochemistry

PhD in structural biology

PhD in molecular biology

PhD in biotechnology

Job description

The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Environmental Microbiology at Aalborg University invites applications for a full‑time postdoctoral researcher to engineer fluorescent probes targeting exopolysaccharides in microbial biofilms. The role emphasizes protein engineering, cloning, expression and imaging in complex communities.

Applicants should hold a PhD in biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, biotechnology or related fields, with