Postdoctoral position Hybrid and De Novo-Designed Nanopores for Single-Molecule Protein Sensing

University of Groningen; Groningen; Sur place; EUR 47 000 - 60 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

End-of-year bonus 8.3%

Holiday allowance 8%

Extensive professional development

Résumé du poste

The Maglia lab at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) seeks a postdoctoral researcher to lead Groningen’s contribution to a strategic consortium.

You will engineer and characterize biological nanopores for single-molecule sensing and collaborate with VUB-VIB and IMEC to integrate de novo-designed pores into functional platforms, contributing to publications and supervision.

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant field completed or nearing completion.
• Experience with protein engineering, expression and purification.
• Experience with single-molecule biophysical techniques is highly desirable.
• Strong publication record for career stage.

Responsabilités

• Engineer and characterize biological nanopores for protein/peptide sensing.
• Collaborate with VUB-VIB to test de novo-designed nanopores for single-molecule sensing.
• Collaborate with imec to integrate biological nanopores with solid-state platforms.
• Design and perform single-molecule experiments (electrical recordings, possibly optical readouts).
• Contribute to project management and reporting to funding bodies; engage with industry.
• Publish findings and supervise PhD students and junior lab members.

Connaissances

Protein engineering

Single-molecule biophysics

Membrane proteins & nanopores

Scientific output

Formation

PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, or Bionanotechnology

Description du poste

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit rug.nl/fse.

What are you going to do?

• Engineer and characterise biological nanopores for the detection, identification and analysis of proteins and peptides, building on the Maglia lab's nanopore sensing and electro-osmotic sequencing platforms.
• Collaborate with VUB-VIB to test, validate and adapt de novo-designed protein nanopores for functional single-molecule sensing applications.
• Collaborate with imec on the integration of biological/de novo nanopores with solid-state platforms towards scalable, hybrid nanopore devices.
• Design and perform single-molecule experiments (electrical recordings, possibly combined with optical/fluorescence readouts) to characterise pore behaviour and sensing performance.
• Contribute to project management and valorisation activities alongside the consortium partners, including reporting to the funding body and engagement with industrial stakeholders.
• Publish and present your findings in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences, and contribute to supervising PhD students and junior lab members.

Requirements

• A PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Bionanotechnology or a related field, completed or nearly completed.
• Demonstrated experience with protein engineering, expression and purification; experience with membrane proteins, ion channels or nanopores is a strong advantage.
• Experience with single-molecule biophysical techniques (e.g. electrical/electrophysiological recordings, single-channel analysis, fluorescence-based single-molecule methods) is highly desirable.
• A strong record of scientific output relative to career stage (publications, conference contributions).
• Willingness to collaborate closely with partner labs in Brussels (VUB-VIB) and Leuven (imec), including travel for joint experiments and consortium meetings.
• Good written and spoken English; strong communication, organisational and mentoring skills.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: A fixed-term contract of 1.0 FTE for the duration of 36 months.

What can you expect from us?

232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.

End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.

Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

Employer

University of Groningen

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

Department

Faculty of Science and Engineering

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit rug.nl/fse.

The Maglia lab at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) is looking for a talented and motivated postdoctoral researcher to lead the Groningen contribution to this project. The lab has pioneered single-molecule nanopore enzymology and the use of electro-osmotic flow for sequencing proteins, and has extensive experience engineering biological nanopores for protein and peptide sensing, including nanobody-functionalised nanopores, nanopore peptide spectroscopy, and detection of proteins directly in biological fluids.

You will work at the interface of the consortium's expertise, engineering and characterising biological and hybrid nanopores for single-molecule protein/peptide sensing, and integrating de novo-designed pores (from VUB-VIB) and/or solid-state elements (from imec) into functional sensing platforms.

Part of a Strategic Basic Research (SBO) consortium with VUB-VIB Center for Structural Biology and IMEC.