You are invited to apply for a 4-year position as a PhD candidate in the research group of Dr. Maximilian Fürst. Together with another PhD student, the successful candidate will be the first members of the newly founded Computational Protein Design group headed by Dr. Fürst. The research focus of the group will be high-throughput protein engineering, combining computational design and directed evolution.

Proteins are increasingly used for biomedical and biotechnological applications—e.g. in pharma companies, which create tailor-made human drug antibodies, or the chemical industry that develops highly specific enzyme catalysts. Because naturally found proteins are usually not well suited to the human-desired task, scientists have developed protein engineering tools to mend their properties and function. The Fürst lab is conducting research that aims to push the boundaries of currently available protein engineering methods by combining cutting-edge techniques in molecular and computational biology. For an exciting interdisciplinary project, the Fürst lab seeks two PhD candidates that will engineer proteins of relevance to biomedicine, biocatalysis, and synthetic biology by:

• predicting designer proteins using both computational biophysical tools (such as structure modelling, docking, and molecular dynamics simulations), as well as bioinformatic approaches (including deep sequencing analysis and machine learning)
• creating high-quality genotype variant libraries with state-of-the-art molecular biology using i.a. synthetic DNA, molecular barcoding, and multi-fragment DNA assembly
• developing and applying high-throughput biochemical protein variant screens using in vivo selections and in vitro screens, such as protein display, water-in-oil emulsions, and plate screens, in combination with next-generation sequencing
• routinely performing standard molecular biology / biochemistry techniques such as PCR, cloning, protein expression and purification.

The two available positions are either for candidates seeking to conduct an interdisciplinary computational and experimental project, or for specialised candidates with a focus on either.

The successful applicants will have a profile similar to this:

• A master degree in the field of molecular life sciences (e.g. molecular biology, biotechnology, …) or field-adjacent natural sciences (e.g. chemistry, bioinformatics)
• Research experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and/or bioinformatics
• Excellent command of English
• Excellent interpersonal skills combined with an ability to work efficiently both independently and in a team

Candidates with experience in protein engineering or any of the above-mentioned project techniques are preferred. All candidates should have experience or at least a keen interest in computational biology and/or (bio)informatics.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

We offer you, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary of € 2,443 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,122 gross per month in the fourth and final year
• a full-time position (1.0 FTE)
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
• an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance.

The two successful candidates will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

The starting date is flexible, although preferred is July-September 2022

Faculty of Science and Engineering

The University of Groningen (UG) is a highly international and renowned centre of higher education located in the north of the Netherlands. Groningen is a vibrant and international student city (1 in 4 of the ~220k inhabitants is a student, and 1 in 4 students is international) located ~2 h northeast of Amsterdam. The UG ranks among the world’s top institutes, and PhD students are very well supported. English is ubiquitously spoken in the Netherlands, and the university provides free language courses. The Dutch are famously direct and open, while hierarchies are typically flat. Even more so than is usual in academia, PhDs and postdocs are typically given considerable freedom and independency and are encouraged to team work.
The group is embedded in the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE, the largest faculty within the University), the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), and shares labs with the Molecular Enzymology group headed by Prof. Dr. Marco Fraaije. The labs are located in the Chemistry/Physics Department, for which the completely new Feringa building is currently being built (expected move in 2023/2024).