Postdoctoral position Hybrid and De Novo-Designed Nanopores for Single-Molecule Protein Sensing

Job description
At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit
rug.nl/fse
.
What are you going to do?
This postdoctoral position is part of a multidisciplinary consortium project bringing together three partners at the forefront of nanopore science: the Vorobieva lab at the VUB-VIB Center for Structural Biology (Brussels), a pioneer in the de novo computational design of membrane proteins and nanopores from physical principles; the group of Prof. Giovanni Maglia at the University of Groningen, a world leader in biological nanopore engineering and single-molecule protein/peptide analysis; and imec (Leuven), a global leader in solid-state nanopore fabrication and hybrid nanopore-electronic integration.
Together, the consortium aims to combine de novo protein design, biological nanopore sensing and solid-state nanofabrication into a new generation of hybrid nanopore sensors for single-molecule protein and peptide analysis.
•
Engineer and characterise biological nanopores
for the detection, identification and analysis of proteins and peptides, building on the Maglia lab's nanopore sensing and electro-osmotic sequencing platforms.
•
Collaborate with VUB-VIB
to test, validate and adapt de novo-designed protein nanopores for functional single-molecule sensing applications.
•
Collaborate with imec
on the integration of biological/de novo nanopores with solid-state platforms towards scalable, hybrid nanopore devices.
•
Design and perform single-molecule experiments
(electrical recordings, possibly combined with optical/fluorescence readouts) to characterise pore behaviour and sensing performance.
•
Contribute to project management and valorisation activities
alongside the consortium partners, including reporting to the funding body and engagement with industrial stakeholders.
•
Publish and present
your findings in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences, and contribute to supervising PhD students and junior lab members.

Requirements

• A PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Bionanotechnology or a related field, completed or nearly completed.
• Demonstrated experience with protein engineering, expression and purification; experience with membrane proteins, ion channels or nanopores is a strong advantage.
• Experience with single-molecule biophysical techniques (e.g. electrical/electrophysiological recordings, single-channel analysis, fluorescence-based single-molecule methods) is highly desirable.
• A strong record of scientific output relative to career stage (publications, conference contributions).
• Willingness to collaborate closely with partner labs in Brussels (VUB-VIB) and Leuven (imec), including travel for joint experiments and consortium meetings.
• Good written and spoken English; strong communication, organisational and mentoring skills.

Conditions of employment
Fixed-term
contract
: A fixed-term contract of 1.0 FTE for the duration of 36 months.
What can you expect from us?
232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

Employer
University of Groningen
At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

Department
Faculty of Science and Engineering
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit
rug.nl/fse
.
The Maglia lab at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) is looking for a talented and motivated postdoctoral researcher to lead the Groningen contribution to this project. The lab has pioneered single-molecule nanopore enzymology and the use of electro-osmotic flow for sequencing proteins, and has extensive experience engineering biological nanopores for protein and peptide sensing, including nanobody-functionalised nanopores, nanopore peptide spectroscopy, and detection of proteins directly in biological fluids.
You will work at the interface of the consortium's expertise, engineering and characterising biological and hybrid nanopores for single-molecule protein/peptide sensing, and integrating de novo-designed pores (from VUB-VIB) and/or solid-state elements (from imec) into functional sensing platforms.
Part of a Strategic Basic Research (SBO) consortium with VUB-VIB Center for Structural Biology and IMEC.