Job Number

BU03815

School/Department

School of Environmental & Natural Sciences

Grade

7

Salary Information

Salary: £38,249 - £45,413 p.a. (Grade 7)

Contract Duration

12 months

Responsible to

Professor in Biology (Biotechnology)

Closing Date

16-07-2025

Applications are invited for a fixed-term, full-time Postdoctoral Research Officer working in the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University.

The successful applicant will carry out the work as part of the Centre for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB, Bangor University), within the recently awarded UKRI/BBSRC grant P3EB: Preventing Plastic Pollution with Engineering Biology (P3EB) Mission Hub https://p3eb.org.uk/.

Duties will include applying enzyme screening and protein engineering methods to enhance plastic waste degradation and bioconversion using engineered enzymes and enzyme cocktails. The main research emphasis will be put on the discovery of novel polyester active enzymes from extreme environments by exploring the natural biochemical diversity and finding stable enzymes for deconstructing and upcycling of mixed plastic waste. Using protein engineering approaches, the identified robust enzymes will be optimised to tolerate harsh industrial conditions used for plastic deconstruction and combined to create synergistic enzyme cocktails for plastic recycling. The successful candidate will be expected to commence their own research in protein engineering and enzyme evolution for industrial applications.

Candidates should be educated to PhD standard (or be near completion) in protein biochemistry, molecular biology, or microbiology. Previous experience in recombinant enzyme expression and purification is required, as well as in enzyme assays and protein engineering including ancestral sequence reconstruction, rational design, and ligand docking. Furthermore, experience with polyester-degrading enzymes (polyesterases) is essential including screening and the identification and quantification of reactions products. The successful candidate will engineer and validate robust polyesterases for potential applications in polyester recycling and upcycling to new products.

The successful candidate is expected to start as soon as possible, and the post is available for a period of 12 months in the first instance, with potential extension subject to funding.

This role will be located on campus at Bangor. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.

Applications will also be considered to carry out this role on a part-time or job share basis.

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting Prof Peter Golyshin p.golyshin@bangor.ac.uk

Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.

Closing date for applications: 16 July 2025

Committed To Equal Opportunities

Overview

The School of Environmental and Natural Sciences (SENS) is part of the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Bangor University, which is one of the leading centres in the UK for teaching and research in an extensive range of science subjects. We aim to educate and train a new generation of scientists aware of societal and environmental needs in a world-class research-led environment. Core research interests of SENS include molecular ecology and evolution, cell and genome science, environmental microbiology and biotechnology, public health surveillance and plant and soil science.

The Project

The post holder will become a key member of the P3EB project and CEB (The Centre for Environmental Biotechnology), a £8.6 M research capacity building project supported by the European Regional Development Fund/Welsh European Funding Office and co-funded by Bangor University.

The P3EB project is funded by the UKRI (BBSRC) Technology Missions Fund and runs for five years starting from February 2024. The P3EB research hub brings together 23 co-investigators from seven UK universities including Bangor University, who will use synthetic biology, biotechnology, and engineering approaches to address the pressing challenges of environmental plastic pollution and recycling by coupling engineering biology with protein biochemistry and other complementary disciplines.

The Bangor University team involved in the P3EB project is led by Prof Peter Golyshin and focuses on the discovery of novel plastic active enzymes from extreme environments and engineering them for enhanced plastic depolymerisation and bioconversion to other products. The successful candidate will be working side-by-side with staff active in Environmental Microbiology (Prof Peter Golyshin) and Enzyme Discovery (Prof Alexander Yakunin).

Other ongoing CEB projects include mining the extremophilic microbial diversity and biochemical characterisation of new enzymes for the bioconversion of plastic deconstruction products to novel polymers and valuable chemicals.

Purpose of the Job

The post is part of an established team working in environmental microbiology, enzyme discovery, and bioremediation at the Centre for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB). The post holder will be responsible for supporting the PI and Co-Is at Bangor and conducting, analysing and publishing experimental studies in relevant research areas.

The research outcomes will include enhanced grant capture and high-quality peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals.

The post will also facilitate the use of highly specialised CEB equipment by academic staff of Bangor University to enhance overall grant income and improving research outputs of core CEB staff.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Research

• Leading research on the discovery, characterisation, and engineering of novel polyester degrading enzymes for potential applications in plastic waste recycling and upcycling.
• Conducting research on activity-based screening, biochemical characterisation, and protein engineering of selected polyester-degrading enzymes for applications in recycling and bioconversion.
• Applying protein engineering tools enhancing polyesterase activity and stability.
• Establishing and optimising quantitative protocols for polyester degradation product analysis.
• Working closely with P3EB Project team and CEB staff (Golyshin, Yakunin) in key aspects of the P3EB project, including taking a lead in selecting novel experimental methods for protein engineering.
• Coordinating research on enzymatic polyester degradation and protein engineering within the P3EB project.
• Planning, prioritising and organising the research and resources in order to meet the P3EB objectives and operate withing financial targets.
• Taking responsibility for the maintenance of enzyme resources and infrastructure and reporting progress to the Bangor P3EB team.
• Performing analysis of data produced in the P3EB project for the preparation of research papers and patents.
• Writing research papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals about the outcomes and findings resulting from the P3EB project.
• Conducting research on the identification, isolation, and characterisation of novel polyesterases.
• Identification and quantitation of enzyme reaction products using various approaches (HPLC, spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry).
• Providing assistance in training for CEB students and staff in polyesterase assays and protein engineering.
  
  

• Administration responsibilities including participating in project meetings and taking the lead in specific tasks.
• Assisting in supervision of undergraduate, Research Masters and PhD students.
  
  

• The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.
• The post holder will be expected to comply with the University’s equality policies and statements, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Scheme.
• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
• The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.
  
  

• A PhD degree (or be near completion) in biochemistry, molecular biology, or microbiology.
  
  

• A strong background in enzymology and experience with enzymatic and protein engineering tools for carboxylesterases and polyesterases with publication records.
• Strong expertise (with publication records) in polyesterase assays and reaction optimisation for polyester depolymerisation, as well as in site-directed mutagenesis.
• Broad experience in carboxylesterase product analysis and identification of polyester degradation products using quantitative methods.
• Strong expertise in enzyme stability analysis and optimisation.
• Experience in preparing research papers for publication, as well as scientific presentations and reports.
• Experience in collecting experimental data and maintaining data records (ensuring confidentiality, data security and backup).
  
  

• Experience in co-supervising and training graduate students and junior researchers.
• Experience in ligand docking analysis for polyesterases.
• Experience in enzymatic plastic degradation.
• Good organisational skills in the context of conducting projects within a specific timetable.
  
  

• Demonstrate good verbal and writing skills.
• Demonstrate ability to work as part of a team with good interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrate good analytical skills, ability to analyse polyesterase activity and polyester degradation kinetics and present results appropriately.
• Demonstrate the ability to prioritise work load and work to deadlines.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the bilingual nature of the institution and the surrounding area, along with the associated responsibilities.
  
  

• Demonstrate proven project management skills.
• Demonstrate good computer skills, including bioinformatics tools and software for sequence analysis, structural enzyme analysis, and enzyme kinetics (e.g. Geneious, FastTree, Chimera, Autodock, Prism).