Post-doctoral Scientists

Enhanced Conversion of Lignocellulose to Biofuels

We are seeking five post-doctoral scientists for full-time, one year appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. All positions are for projects jointly supervised by Professors Douglas Clark and Harvey Blanch.

Position One

The focus of this research project is to develop a high-throughput assay suitable for screening cellulolytic activity against solid substrates and apply this system in the directed evolution of thermostable cellulases with improved activity and stability in the hydrolysis of solid cellulosic substrates.

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Principal Investigators: Develop a high-throughput microarray assay suitable for screening cellulolytic activity against solid substrates; perform directed evolution of cellulases from thermophilic bacteria and archaea;  Compare properties of enzyme mutants generated by directed evolution against soluble and soluble substrates.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree, with strong background and training in bio/chemistry, bio/chemical engineering or related field;
• Strong work ethic, proven organizational and communication skills with keen observational and critical thinking abilities required; and
• Must be flexible, have collaborative, team-oriented style yet able to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent technical skills in the following areas will be required: protein engineering via directed evolution using error-prone PCR and/or DNA shuffling; standard molecular biology techniques; enzymatic activity assays; protein purification methods.

Position Two

The focus of this research project is to develop a comprehensive model of cellulose hydrolysis that can be used to predict cellulase performance, guide cellulase design, and optimize the hydrolysis of various cellulosic substrates.

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Principal Investigators: Determine kinetic parameters for mesophilic and thermophilic cellulases toward soluble substrates; Measure binding constants for both reversible and irreversible adsorption cellulases to solid substrates; Develop a comprehensive model of cellulose hydrolysis; Test and apply the kinetic model in experimental studies with individual cellulase components and cellulase mixtures.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree, with strong background and training in bio/chemical engineering or related field;
• Strong work ethic, proven organizational and communication skills with keen observational and critical thinking abilities required; and
• Must be flexible, have collaborative, team-oriented style yet able to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent technical skills in the following areas will be required: standard techniques in protein chemistry; enzymatic activity assays; liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry; protein purification; kinetic modeling of enzymatic reactions.

Position Three

The focus of this research project is to explore the use of spin-labeling and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to probe the kinetics and active-site structure of soluble and surface-adsorbed cellulases.

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Principal Investigators: Prepare spin-labeled glycosides and use electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to determine the amount of catalytically-active adsorbed cellulases for use in kinetic models, and probe the active-site structure of the soluble and adsorbed enzymes.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree, with strong background and training in bio-organic chemistry or related field;
• Strong work ethic, proven organizational and communication skills with keen observational and critical thinking abilities required; and
• Must be flexible, have collaborative, team-oriented style yet able to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent technical skills in the following areas will be required: standard techniques in protein chemistry; enzymatic activity assays; basic organic chemistry; biological spectroscopy with experience using ESR spectroscopy strongly preferred.

Position Four

The focus of this research project is to engineer microorganisms with enhanced tolerance toward ethanol, butanol, and temperature, and develop fermentation conditions for optimal solvent production.

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Principal Investigators: Clone and express genes that confer enhanced solvent tolerance to the host solventogenic organism; use protein engineering to develop protein variants with increased ability to improve solvent tolerance; perform and optimize fermentations to characterize solvent productivity of various aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms.  

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree, with strong background and training in biochemistry, microbiology, bio/chemical engineering or related field;
• Strong work ethic, proven organizational and communication skills with keen observational and critical thinking abilities required; and
• Must be flexible, have collaborative, team-oriented style yet able to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent technical skills in the following areas will be required: protein engineering via directed evolution using error-prone PCR and/or DNA shuffling; standard molecular biology techniques; microbial cultivation (and/or fermentation); basic microbiological methods.

Position Five

The focus of this research project is to develop a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process for operation near the boiling point of ethanol.

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Principal Investigators: Assist in conducting original research to devise cell-growth protocols and fermentation conditions for xylanolytic and cellulolytic thermophiles that can degrade pretreated cellulosic substrates near the boiling point of ethanol.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree, with strong background and training in microbiology, bio/chemical engineering or related field;
• Strong work ethic, proven organizational and communication skills with keen observational and critical thinking abilities required; and
• Must be flexible, have collaborative, team-oriented style yet able to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent technical skills in the following areas will be required: microbial cultivation (and/or fermentation), especially of thermophiles; basic microbiological techniques; standard analytical methods, including liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Please forward a CV, along with names of three references to:
Professor Douglas Clark
201 Gilman Hall
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1462