1 PhD student position in Wood enzyme technology in Sweden | Chalmers University of Technology

The project will be part of the activities in Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC). In WWSC the next generation of novel wood-based materials and associated processes are developed. The main focus is on understanding of mechanisms and principles that can facilitate the development of novel wood-based materials. The center is multidisciplinary and located both at Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. About 60 persons (of which about 20 are professors) are working in the center.

Major responsibilities

The major task for the PhD-student will be to develop enzymes and enzyme technology that aid in wood polymer disassembly. The target will be to break the lignin carbohydrate network and to address how chemical and structural features of the lignocellulose material change as response to enzyme action. The PhD student will work in the Industrial Biotechnology group in close collaboration with other researchers in WWSC.

Your major responsibility as PhD student is to perform your own research in our research group. The position may also include supervision of master's and teaching obligations. You will be enrolled in the graduate school BioScience and will follow the curriculim given there.

Position summary

Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications:

To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in Biochemical Engineering or in Biotechnology. University courses or equivalent in wood chemistry, enzymology, plant cell wall biotechnology, enzyme discovery and bioinformatics are qualifying merits.

You are expected to demonstrate good potential within research and education. Important qualities are enthusiasm, to be able to drive and conclude projects independently, take own initiative and discuss/develop own ideas, write well-formulated reports, be creative and have a problem-solving ability, and to be a mature person also realising your own limitations. The project is part of a interdiscioplinary collaboration with several other research groups and thus good cooperation and social abilities are highly important.