Research Associate in Microbial Engineering

at  The University of Manchester

This project is part of one of the six new mission hubs for Engineering Biology funded by UKRI: “Environmental Processing and Recovery of Metals; from Contaminated Land to Industrial Biotechnology in a Circular Economy (ELEMENTAL)”. This mission hub involves a collaboration between researchers at the University of Kent, Quadram Institute, University of East Anglia, University of Durham, Natural History Museum, University College London, University of Surrey and the University of York, in addition to the University of Manchester, and aims to use living organisms to recover and recycle metals to address the growing need for these critical elements in clean energy technologies and promote a circular economy.
Technologically critical metals, such as gold, copper, cobalt, lithium, indium, and rare earth elements, pose significant challenges due to their limited availability and the environmental damage caused by their extraction. Recycling these metals is crucial for reducing the demand for primary mining and minimising environmental impacts. ELEMENTAL is tackling this problem by establishing an open knowledge hub to enhance ongoing projects related to mineral extraction, urban mining, industrial waste, and nuclear waste by leveraging engineering biology tools and approaches.
This project based in Manchester will focus on the development of innovative metallic biorecovery strategies using the tools of engineering biology. This will involve the fine-tuning of naturally-occurring bacteria (Shewanella oneidensis and potentially other metal-reducing bacteria) to recognise and accumulate metals, including gold, copper and rare earth elements; the bacteria being engineered for targeted enzymatic reduction and precipitation of the contaminant/target metals. A key component of this project will be uncovering and characterising the metal handling/detoxification systems in these bacteria which will exploit the use of the TraDIS-Xpress transposon mutagenesis method to predict these systems. TraDIS-Xpress allows all the genes within a bacterium to be assayed for roles under a condition of interest (e.g. metal toxicity) in a single experiment with high throughput sequencing used to score the fate of each mutant during the experiment. The predictions based on the outputs of these experiments will be tested using defined deletion or reduced-/over-expression mutants of S. oneidensis and protein biochemistry and will inform engineering S. oneidensis for increased metal resistance and improved metal processing/recovery. An additional component of this project will be the development of in-cell metal biosensors (using bacterial metal sensing transcriptional regulators) to report on intracellular metal availability in S. oneidensis and further inform metal circuitry engineering.
We have shown considerable potential for S. oneidensis to bioreduce and precipitate a broad range of metals as valuable nanoparticles, and we will work with our industrial partners during the project to test and optimise our engineered bacteria for industrial biology applications.
The successful applicant will join the ELEMENTAL consortium and work in the research groups of Dr Jen Cavet and Professor Jon Lloyd at the University of Manchester. They will be primarily based in the molecular microbiology research laboratory of Dr Jen Cavet in the School of Biological Sciences within the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health whilst work associated with metallic nanoparticle production and characterisation will be undertaken in the geomicrobiology research laboratory of Professor Jon Lloyd in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences within the Faculty of Science and engineering. The latter will be performed using a powerful combination of techniques using a powerful combination of techniques, including advanced electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
The successful applicant must have a strong background in molecular microbiology or microbial synthetic biology, ideally with experience of studying metals in biological systems. The project will involve a considerable amount of bacterial culturing and genetic manipulation, metal analyses, as well as gene expression studies. Candidates should have completed a PhD prior to taking up the position.
You will be responsible for conducting your own research under the supervision of Dr Jen Cavet and Professor Jon Lloyd to generate S. oneidensis strains that are genetically engineered for enhanced recovery of metals (including gold, copper and REES) by manipulating metal uptake, detoxification and regulatory pathways. This will involve the day to day running of the project and carrying out the necessary laboratory work. A range of molecular biology and biochemical techniques will be used including gene cloning, PCR, bacterial culture & targeted mutagenesis, metal-tolerance assays and gene expression analyses as well as protein purification and metal binding analyses. You will also work closely with members of the geomicrobiology group regarding metallic nanoparticle production and characterisation. In addition, you will collaborate with other ELEMENTAL mission hub researchers including attending and presenting at face-to-face consortium planning and reporting meetings.

What you will get in return:

• Fantastic market leading Pension scheme
• Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme
• Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays
• Additional paid closure over the Christmas period
• Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
Our University is positive about flexible working you can find out more here
Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.
Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.
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