Postdoctoral Researcher

An opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the newly appointed group of Dr Hassan Salem at the John Innes Centre in the Department of Molecular Microbiology. This post is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) grant.

About the John Innes Centre:

The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences. We nurture a creative, curiosity-led approach to answering fundamental questions in bioscience, and translate that knowledge into societal benefits. Our strategic vision, Healthy Plants, Healthy People, Healthy Planet, sets out our ambitious long-term goals for the game changing impact of our science globally.

Our employees enjoy access to state-of-the-art technology and a diverse range of specialist training opportunities, including support for leadership and management. Click here to find out more about working at the John Innes Centre.

About the Salem Group:

The Salem Group studies the evolution, function, and adaptive consequences of herbivore–microbe symbioses. Our research focuses on how extracellular bacterial symbionts upgrade host digestive physiology, enable dietary specialization, thereby facilitating herbivory.

The Role:

The candidate will investigate the biochemical and structural characterization of host traits and proteins central to symbiosis in beetles.

This role will include:
• Cloning, heterologously expressing (in E. coli and insect cell lines), and purifying proteins underlying obligate symbiosis.
• Performing biochemical and kinetic assays, including DNS assays, thin layer chromatography, and substrate-binding assays, to characterize enzyme activity and specificity.
• Solving protein structures by X-ray crystallography or Cryo-EM and applying computational structure prediction tools (e.g., AlphaFold) to compare host- and symbiont-encoded proteins.
• Applying site-directed mutagenesis to identify residues underlying functional divergence.
• Applying mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches to profile symbiont-secreted and host secreted proteins.
• Integrating structural, biochemical, and evolutionary data to relate enzyme architecture to symbiotic function.
• Disseminating results through preprints, publications, conference presentations, and mentoring of students.

The ideal Candidate:

You will have a PhD (or equivalent) in biochemistry, structural biology, protein chemistry, or molecular biology, or a related discipline.

The successful candidate will have:
• Experience with recombinant protein expression and purification, in bacterial and/or insect cell systems.
• Experience with enzymology and enzyme kinetics assays.
• Experience with X-ray crystallography or other structural biology techniques (e.g., cryo-EM, NMR); familiarity with structure determination software (e.g., Phenix, Coot) is desirable.
• Experience with mass spectrometry-based proteomics.
• Familiarity with computational structural biology tools (e.g., AlphaFold, PyMOL, Rosetta).
• Strong computational skills for biochemical and structural data analysis (preferably R and/or Python).
• Demonstrated ability to develop independent, hypothesis-driven research at the interface of biochemistry and evolution.

You will also have excellent communication skills, experience mentoring students or visitors, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Additional information:

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit our website http://jobs.jic.ac.uk or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk quoting reference 1006174.

This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Where the successful applicant requires a visa, we will fund the costs for their visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

We are an equal opportunities employer, actively supporting inclusivity and diversity.  As a Disability Confident organisation, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy. We are proud to hold a prestigious Gold Athena SWAN award in recognition of our inclusive culture, commitment and good practices towards advancing of gender equality. We offer an exciting, stimulating, diverse research environment and actively promote a family friendly workplace. The Institute is also a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.