PhD Student Position (Enzymology and enzyme engineering)

80% represents the standard employment rate for PhD students for the Department of Chemistry and is not a reflection of part-time employment. A PhD project is available in the group of Prof. Dr. Alexandria (Ali) Deliz Liang in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Zurich (Switzerland). Our laboratory works on fundamental enzymology and methods in enzyme engineering including genetic code expansion. Currently, we are seeking a highly motivated PhD stu-dent to join our work in these areas.



Your responsibilities


The successful candidate will take on responsibilities that approximately follow the trajectory below.

• Cloning, expression, purification, and activity characterization for our target enzyme,
• Chemical synthesis of substrates and assay probes,
• Assay development for screening enzymatic activity,
• Creation and high-throughput screening of DNA libraries,
• NGS and computational analysis of variants,
• Scripting in python for data analysis,
• Characterization of key enzyme variants, and
• Combining mechanistic enzymology and computation to understand the effects of mutations on catalysis.

Although no candidate will be expected to have experience in all the fields above prior to joining, the project is interdisciplinary. Thus, an enthusiasm and capacity to become proficient in all of these techniques is essential. Additionally, the student will be responsible for academic and organizational duties, including

• serving as a teaching assistant for introductory chemistry courses,
• participating in group meetings and departmental seminars,
• fulfilling group responsibilities (equipment and organizational responsibilities), and
• completing PhD requirements for the chemistry graduate school program.

Your profile


Essential:

• A highly motivated student with an MS degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or related field
• Ability to logically design rigorous experiments, including control experiments
• Scientific integrity
• Proactive about planning
• Capable of integrating feedback efficiently
• Capable of working in a highly interdisciplinary project
• Experience with cloning, protein expression, and protein purification
• Experience with chemical synthesis
• Willingness and ability to learn Python scripting
• Enthusiastic about learning and applying new techniques
• Enthusiastic about working on an interdisciplinary research project
• Excellent communications skills in English (spoken and written) are essential
• Conscientious and inclusive working style
• Ability to positively contribute to a supportive working environment

Highly desirable, one or more of the following:

• Enzyme assay development
• Protein engineering
• Comfort with light scripting for data analysis

Information on your application
Applications should be submitted through the application portal using the "Apply now" button below. Applications sent by email will be immediately deleted. Applicants should prepare a single PDF document that includes the following: i) a 1-page cover letter describing previous research and motivation for applying to this position, ii) a detailed curriculum vitae, and iii) the names of two people who can supply reference letters. Please note that the application portal also includes a short, mandatory questionnaire. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submission is encouraged.

What we offer


Our employees benefit from a wide range of attractive offers. Find out more:

What we offer

Work-Life Balance

• Flexible working models (such as part-time positions, mobile working, job-sharing)
• Childcare at the kihz foundation of UZH and ETH

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Learning and Development

• Wide range of continuing education courses of UZH and the Canton of Zurich
• Language Center run jointly with ETH Zurich

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Food

• Food and drinks at reduced prices in the UZH cafeterias
• Lunch-Check-card with UZH contribution

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Healthcare

• Special conditions on the Academic Sports Association ASVZ
• Free seasonal flu vaccinations
• Rest and relaxation at the quiet room in the university tower

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Discounts

• Private traffic: Carsharing, rent a vehicle, parking space
• Digitalization: Hardware, software, mobile phone subscriptions

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Conditions of Employment

• Policies of the UZH
• Most UZH staff are employed according to public law

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International Services

• Support for people from outside Switzerland

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Campuses

• Campuses Zurich City, Zurich Irchel, Oerlikon and Schlieren
• Sites Zurich West, Old Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden and Lengg

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