PhD Student in Plastic degradation project

‭‭Project background‬

‭ Every‬‭day,‬‭ we‬‭ are‬‭ surrounded‬‭ by‬‭ plastic,‬‭ which‬‭ has‬‭ become‬‭ an‬‭ indispensable‬‭ part‬‭ of‬‭ our‬‭ lives.‬‭ Each‬‭ year,‬

approximately‬‭ 460‬‭ million‬‭metric‬‭tons‬‭ (Mt)‬‭ of‬‭ plastic‬‭ are‬‭ produced,‬‭ leading‬‭ to‬‭ significant‬‭ amounts‬‭ of‬‭ plastic‬

‭waste‬‭ (OECD,‬‭2022)‬‭.‬‭The‬‭ problem‬‭ is‬‭ worsened‬‭ by‬‭ the‬‭ fact‬‭ that‬‭ nearly‬‭ half‬‭ of‬‭ all‬‭ plastic‬‭ products‬‭ are‬‭ used‬

‭for‬‭ packaging‬‭ material‬‭ with‬‭ a‬‭ short‬‭ lifespan‬‭ of‬‭ 6-12‬‭ months‬‭(Geyer,‬‭ Jambeck,‬‭ and‬‭ Law‬‭ 2017)‬‭.‬‭A‬ ‭solution‬‭ to‬

‭this‬ ‭problem‬ ‭is‬ ‭to‬ ‭use‬ ‭less‬ ‭plastic‬ ‭products‬ ‭while‬ ‭simultaneously‬ ‭improving‬‭ our‬‭ plastic‬‭ recycling‬‭abilities.‬

‭Biorecycling‬ ‭is‬ ‭a‬ ‭promising‬ ‭approach‬ ‭to‬ ‭achieve‬ ‭sustainable‬ ‭plastic‬ ‭recycling‬ ‭and‬ ‭to‬ ‭move‬ ‭towards‬ ‭a‬

‭circular‬‭ economy‬‭ that‬‭ allows‬‭ the‬‭re purposing‬‭ of‬‭ plastic‬‭ waste.‬‭ This‬‭ method‬‭ is‬‭ based‬‭ on‬‭ enzymes‬‭ typically‬

‭found‬ ‭in‬ ‭microorganisms,‬ ‭such‬ ‭as‬ ‭bacteria‬ ‭and‬ ‭fungi.‬ ‭Once‬ ‭identified,‬‭these‬‭ enzymes‬‭ are‬‭ optimized‬‭ and‬

‭expressed to degrade plastic waste ‬‭(Hou et al. 2021)‬‭.‬

‭Job description‬

A‬ ‭full-time‬ ‭PhD‬ ‭position‬ ‭for‬ ‭4‬ ‭years‬ ‭starting‬ ‭as‬ ‭soon‬ ‭as‬ ‭possible.‬ ‭You‬ ‭will‬ ‭work‬ ‭in‬ ‭an‬ ‭interdisciplinary‬

‭laboratory‬ ‭with‬ ‭strong‬ ‭expertise‬ ‭in‬ ‭Microbiology,‬ ‭Bioinformatics‬ ‭and‬ ‭Protein‬ ‭expression.‬ ‭Throughout‬ ‭the‬

‭project‬ ‭there‬ ‭will‬ ‭be‬ ‭mentoring‬ ‭opportunities,‬ ‭including‬ ‭bachelor‬ ‭and‬ ‭master‬ ‭students’‬ ‭projects.‬ ‭You‬ ‭will‬

‭actively‬ ‭participate‬ ‭in‬ ‭group‬ ‭and‬ ‭institute‬ ‭duties‬ ‭as‬ ‭well‬ ‭as‬ ‭teaching‬‭ activities.‬‭As‬‭ an‬‭ integral‬‭ part‬‭ of‬‭ your‬

‭work,‬ ‭you‬ ‭will‬ ‭publish‬ ‭your‬ ‭results‬ ‭in‬ ‭peer-reviewed‬ ‭journals‬ ‭and‬ ‭present‬ ‭them‬ ‭at‬ ‭(inter)national‬

‭conferences.‬

‭The‬‭ position‬‭ will‬‭ be‬‭ based‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ Environmental‬‭ OMICS‬‭ Group‬‭(E-OMICS group)‬ headed‬‭ by‬‭ Prof.‬‭ C.‬‭ Rinke‬

‭at the Depart­ment of Micro­bi­ol­ogy, University of Innsbruck, Austria.‬‭https://rinkelab.org/‬

Job profile

Master’s degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, or related disciplines from an accredited university.

Experience in the use of bioinformatics tools for the characterisation of microbes, e.g. metagenomics, transcriptomics. Knowledge of molecular biology, e.g. DNA and RNA extraction, PCR, qPCR, enzyme assays, preparation of sequencing libraries, etc. is an advantage. Proficiency in English, good communication skills, and social competence are required. High self-motivation with commitment to scientific excellence and willingness to travel.

We offer

Ph.D. student employed at the University of Innsbruck (full social security coverage under the Austrian national law). The gross salary for these positions will be~ €1.789,40 (20h/week) and after dissertation agreement increase to ~€2.684,10 (30h/week)

Diverse and exciting research projects on cutting edge topics Continuing personal and professional education, as a part of the graduate school.

‭We look forward to receiving your application Applications must include the following documents:‬

‭-‬ ‭A‬ ‭CV‬ ‭based‬ ‭on‬ ‭the‬ ‭Europass‬ ‭template‬ ‭including‬ ‭publications,‬ ‭conference‬ ‭contributions,‬ ‭and‬ ‭other‬

‭scientific activities (if applicable)‬

‭-‬‭A‬‭ cover‬‭ letter‬‭ where‬‭ you‬‭ describe‬‭ your‬‭ previous‬‭ experience‬‭ and‬‭ how‬‭ you‬‭ see‬‭ yourself‬‭ contributing‬‭ to‬‭ the‬

project‬

‭-‬ ‭Bachelor's‬ ‭and‬ ‭Master's‬ ‭degree‬ ‭certificates,‬ ‭if‬ ‭the‬ ‭degree‬ ‭certificate‬ ‭is‬ ‭not‬ ‭yet‬ ‭available,‬ ‭a‬ ‭current‬

collective certificate‬

‭-‬‭Contact‬‭ information‬‭ of‬‭ 3‬‭ references‬ ‭who‬‭ will‬‭ be‬‭ asked‬‭ for‬‭ a‬‭ recommendation‬‭ letter‬‭ during‬‭ the‬‭ later‬‭ stages‬

of the interview process.‬