Immobilizing biocatalysts assemblies in functional materials (Advert ref: RDF18/APP/PERRY)

This PhD studentship will operate alongside the £2.2M EPSRC grant “Manufacturing Immortality”, a seven university (Bristol, Northumbria, Manchester, Cranfield, Lancaster, Aberdeen and Sheffield Hallam) project seeking to develop innovative manufacturing methods to enable the reliable and scalable production of evolvable bio-hybrid systems that possess the inherent ability to sense and repair damage, so-called ’immortal’ products. The project brings together expertise in synthetic biology, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, manufacturing science, digital simulation and design.

Northumbria University is providing chemical expertise in this consortium building on existing strengths in polymer & analytical chemistry, and biocatalyst development. Within the larger Manufacturing Immortality project, this studentship will be supporting the key research aim of determining how to efficiently anchor biocatalysts (which will be either enzymes, organisms or assemblies of organisms) to surfaces of components in objects such as batteries or electrical components such that the biological component is an integral part of the function and resilience. This PhD project will be tasked with producing new methods of producing biomaterials which will incorporate bespoke synthetic biology within microscale surface features produced using state of the art additive manufacturing processes, and developing analytical methods to test these biomaterials’ performance. This project will include periods working in project partner’s materials science and synthetic biology laboratories to enhance cross-disciplinary approaches, and will involve interaction with project research teams working in digital simulation, engineering and design for the circular economy.

This project will require a student with a degree in chemistry who is interested in working across discipline boundaries. This project currently has 11 industrial project partners so alongside research into the functional materials of tomorrow, we expect there to be a significant degree of applied research outcomes. This studentship will work in collaboration with research groups at AkzoNobel in Felling, Gateshead.

Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
• Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere.

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. RDF18/…) will not be considered.

Deadline for applications: 28 January 2018
Start Date: 1 October 2018

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers.

Informal Enquiries
Enquiries regarding this studentship should be made to [Email Address Removed]