Careers at Virginia Tech

Project Title: Building Molecular-Level Understanding of Ubiquitin Ligase Function

Overview: We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled individual to join the VT Plant Synthetic Biology research group as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The successful candidate will be a key contributor to a project focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying ubiquitin ligase function, with a specific emphasis on plant hormone receptors and response pathways. This position offers a unique opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research at the intersection of molecular biology, biochemistry, and synthetic biology with agriculture and biotechnology.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop, execute, and publish research projects towards understanding and engineering chemically activated ubiquitin ligases. This work will build upon existing systems in the VT Plant Synthetic Biology lab for functional quantification of ubiquitin ligases in yeast and expand to using deep mutational scanning and directed evolution approaches. Additionally, the successful candidate will explore developing new systems for high throughput functional measurement of ubiquitin ligases that respond to jasmonate and other plant hormones.

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology, or a related field awarded no more than four years prior to the effective date of the appointment with a minimum of one year of eligibility remaining.
• Strong background in molecular biology techniques and synthetic biology including modular cloning, mutagenesis, genetic engineering of eukaryotic cells and organisms, genetic screening, fluorescent/luminescent reporter assays.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a research team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience with flow cytometry, FACS, yeast genetics, binding kinetics measurements, transient infiltration and protoplast assays of gene function, RNAseq, protein engineering, deep mutational scanning, and CRISPR-based library screening.
• Experience with bioinformatics pipelines for variant identification and enrichment analyses, or deep mutational scanning.

Restricted

53,550-65,029

09/21/2024

Interested candidates should submit a CV, cover letter outlining research experience and interests, and contact information for three professional references

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

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