As part of the MIAMi project, a postoctoral fellowship in bioprocess engineering is proposed by the BBV team

MIAMi project: Refactoring of Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloids in Microbial Cell Factories

The main objective of the MIAMi project (https://www.miami‐project.eu/) is to develop a sustainable microbial production of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs), a class of plant specialized metabolites that show a remarkable structural diversity and pharmaceutically valuable biological. To do so, the MIAMi consortium develops new rational approaches to elucidate target MIA biosynthetic pathways in plants, and to genetically engineer yeast cell factories for heterologous production of MIAs. The next
step consists in the scale‐up of the microbial MIA production, to evaluate the environmental benefits and risks compared to existing value chains, and the development of a purification process.
 

Post‐doctoral proposal

A 18 months fellowship is available, from September 2021. Net annual income will be 28,000 €.

The recruited post‐doctorate will be in charge of the characterization of lead strains and optimization of the bioprocess in lab scale bioreactors (2L). She/He will also assess the scale‐up potential of the most productive strains by performing 50L productions.
The post‐doctorate will work in close collaboration with the MIAMi partners of the different work packages, mainly by sharing key process and production parameters for TEA/LCA studies and purification development. She/He will also benefit from the support of BBV’s assistant engineer and assistant professor working on the project.
 

Expected profile

• Strong experience in biochemical engineering: design, optimization, management and data processing of bioreactors
• Good knowledge in metabolic biochemistry and cell factories
• Comprehensive understanding of TEA/LCA and purification processes
• Autonomy and initiatives

 

Host laboratory

The BBV research Laboratory develops an integrated approach for plant specialized metabolism bioproduction (https://twitter.com/BBVEA2106_Tours). We focus on the elucidation of plant specialized metabolism pathways, in order to develop biotechnological applications based on microbial cell factories producing metabolites of interest. This value chain is completed by bioprocess engineering to reach optimized productions. The post‐doctorate will also work at the Bio3 Institute (https://bio3institute.fr) , a public structure dedicated to the support of bioproduction research programs, offering lab and pilot scale units facilities (bioreactors, separation, purification).
 

Application

Application must include a detailed CV, a motivation letter, and appreciation letters from two referees.
Send as a single pdf at vincent.courdavault@univ‐tours.fr and jillian.marc@univ‐tours.fr.