PhD fellowships within fungal fermentation for the production of single cell oils
Deadline: 15.06.2020
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
NMBU has a special responsibility for research and education that ensures the basis of life for future generations.
Sustainability is rooted in everything we do and we provide knowledge for life.
NMBU has 1700 employees and 5200 students and is organized in seven faculties. NMBU has a campus in Ås and in Oslo. In 2021 we are co-located on Ås. Further information on NMBU is available at www.nmbu.no.
About The Faculty of Science and Technology
The Faculty of Science and Technology (REALTEK) develops research-based knowledge and educates civil engineers and lecturers needed to reach the UN's sustainability goals. We have approximately 150 employees, 70 PhD students and soon 1500 students. The education and research at REALTEK cover a broad spectrum of disciplines.
This includes data science, mechanics and process engineering, robotics, construction and architecture, industrial economics, environmental physics and renewable energy, geomatics, water and environmental engineering, applied mathematics as well as secondary school teacher education in natural sciences and use of natural resources such as in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. The workplace is in Ås, 30 km from Oslo.
Do you have experience with growing yeast and filamentous fungi and running fermentation processes?
Do you wish to work in an exciting multidisciplinary team in the field of Biorefinery and Bioprocess development?
About the position
The Faculty of Science and Technology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has vacant two 3-year PhD positions related to the development of fungal fermentation processes for valorizing different forestry and food rest materials and by-products for the production of single cell oils for animal and human use.The PhD positions are funded by the NFR HAVBRUK2 project OIL4FEED ‘Oil from oleaginous microbial biomass derived from Norwegian resources as a sustainable alternative to replace Fish/Plant oils in fish feed’, and NFR FME project Bio4Fuels ‘Norwegian Centre for Sustainable Bio-based Fuels and Energy’.
Both projects aim at utilizing the unique potential of the versatile metabolism of oleaginous fungi to develop a sustainable process for the conversion of agriculture supply chain by-products, namely animal fat and protein fractions from meat industry and sugar-rich lignocellulose hydrolysates, into high-value single cell oils by fungal fermentation.
The PhD projects will provide a detailed understanding on: (1) How to formulate fermentation substrate from the selected food supply chain and forestry by-products; (2) What are the optimal process parameters for the production of fungal single cell oils; (3) Developing and optimizing fungal fermentation processes – submerged and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation; (4) monitoring fungal fermentation processes by using vibrational spectroscopy; (4) Optimizing lipid extraction from oleaginous fungi biomass;
Project and supervisor groupAssoc. Prof. Volha Shapaval, Prof. Achim Kohler, Dr. Boris Zimmermann at the Faculty of Science and Technology and Prof. Svein Jarle Horn at the Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
Main tasks
PhD 1 (connected to the project OIL4FEED)
Developing fermentation substrate based on lignocellulose hydrolysates, animal fat and protein rest materials;
Developing and optimizing submerged fungal fermentation based on the developed substrates by utilizing HTS-FTIR spectroscopy;
Performing biochemical analysis of fungal biomass by reference analytical and spectroscopic methods;
Optimizing extraction of lipids and cell wall components from the fungal biomass;
Use of vibrational spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis for process optimization.
PhD 2 (connected to the project Bio4Fuels)
Developing fermentation substrate based on lignocellulose hydrolysate materials;
Developing and optimizing both fungal submerged fermentation and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation;
Performing biochemical analysis of fungal biomass biomass by reference analytical and spectroscopic methods;
Optimizing extraction of lipids and cell wall components from the fungal biomass;
Use of vibrational spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis for process optimization.
The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with a view to completing a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period.
Qualification requirements, desired experiences, knowledge and personal qualities
The successful applicant must meet the conditions defined for admission to a PhD programme at NMBU. The applicant must have an academically relevant education corresponding to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are at master's degree level (candidates submitting MSc thesis by 15 May 2020 may also be considered). The applicant must have a documented strong academic background from previous studies and document proficiency in both written and oral English. For more detailed information on the admission criteria please see the PhD Regulations and the relevant PhD programme description.
The applicant must document expertise and interest in the research subject.
Required Academic qualifications
Master in Biotechnology / Microbiology / Biochemistry / Chemistry / Chemical Engineering
Fluent English both written and oral
The following experiences and skills will be emphasized:
Experience in working with yeasts
Experience in working with bioreactors, being independent in performing fungal fermentations
Experience in working with filamentous fungi
Experience with lipid extraction and lipid analysis by GC-FID
Experience with infrared spectroscopy or infrared imaging
Some knowledge in multivariate data analysis
You need to:
The candidate has to be able to work both independently and in a multidisciplinary research team and needs to describe these skills in the application.
Remuneration and further information
The position is placed in government pay scale position code 1017 PhD. Fellow. PhD. Fellows are normally placed in pay grade 54 (NOK 479.600) on the Norwegian Government salary scale upon employment and follow ordinary meriting regulations.
Terms of employment are governed by Norwegian guidelines for PhD fellowships at Universities and University Colleges.
For further information, please contact Professor Volha ShapavalE-mail: volha.shapaval@nmbu.no; phone +47 9841 8248
To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply for this job' button above. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
Application deadline: 15.06.2020
Applications should include (electronically) a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, full publication list, copies of degree certificates and transcripts of academic records (all certified), and a list of two persons who may act as references (with phone numbers and e-mail addresses). Publications should be included electronically
within the application deadline. The relevant NMBU Department may require further documentation, e.g. proof of English proficiency.
Printed material which cannot be sent electronically should be sent by surface mail to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, within 15.06.2020. Please quote reference number 20/01618.
If it is difficult to judge the applicant’s contribution for publications with multiple authors, a short description of the applicant’s contribution must be included.
