An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Potato Biotechnologist to join the Seung and Osbourn Groups at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism.

About the Groups

This post holder will be based in both David Seung and Anne Osbourn groups, which are in the Biochemistry and Metabolism department of the John Innes Centre.

David Seung’s group has expertise in the biology and biotechnology of starch crops. Anne Osbourn’s group has expertise in natural product chemistry and synthetic biology of plants. Our teams are multidisciplinary and maintain a vibrant and stimulating research atmosphere, consisting of postdoctoral scientists, postgraduate students, and research assistants. We regularly host projects for undergraduate students. We collaborate extensively with other research groups at JIC, as well those based at other institutes within the UK and abroad.

The role

We are looking for a dedicated Potato Biotechnologist to be based at the John Innes Centre, working as part of a large cross-institute, multidisciplinary project that aims to develop artificial chromosome technology and synthetic biology tools in potato.

The post holder will be based in both the Seung and Osbourn labs in the Biochemistry and Metabolism department. They will work closely with the Postdoctoral Scientists on the project and provide excellent support in the area of potato transformation and maintenance of transgenic lines in tissue culture. They will generate transgenic lines carrying synthetic gene clusters that are designed to enhance nutritional and yield traits in potato and participate in the characterisation of these traits. Optimisation of transformation approaches to deliver these goals is expected. As part of a larger goal to develop a synthetic biology toolkit in potato, the postholder will also generate and characterise a series of reporter lines to test the activity of different promoters, terminators, etc.

This job is part of an Advanced Research + Invention Agency-funded project, subject to contract negotiations.

The ideal candidate

The successful applicant must have prior research experience in the transformation of potato (or other Solanaceae crops).  They must also have experience in tracking and handling large numbers of transgenic lines. Given the highly collaborative nature of this project, it is essential that the candidate values teamwork.

The applicant will have a BSc or equivalent in biology/biotechnology. They will also have a PhD that focuses on plant biotechnology, or equivalent research experience. They must have extensive knowledge in plant tissue culture and general plant biology.

Additional information

Candidates are required to submit a covering letter along with their CV as part of their application.

Further information and details of how to apply can be found here, or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk quoting reference 1004858. This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Where the successful applicant requires a visa, we will fund the costs for their visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

We are an equal opportunities employer, actively supporting inclusivity and diversity.  As a Disability Confident organisation, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy. We are proud to hold a prestigious Gold Athena SWAN award in recognition of our inclusive culture, commitment and good practices towards advancing of gender equality. We offer an exciting, stimulating, diverse research environment and actively promote a family friendly workplace. The Institute is also a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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