Research Fellow (Synthetic Biology)

Join Our Team at the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

The School of Biological Sciences (SBS), part of the College of Science at Nanyang Technological University, was established in 2002 with a mission to advance excellence in biological and biomedical sciences. Our research spans diverse and impactful areas including infectious diseases, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, telomere biology, and genome function. SBS is home to a vibrant, international community of scientific leaders, researchers, and professionals dedicated to innovation, discovery, and education.

We invite applications for a Research Fellow position in the laboratory of Prof Liang Zhao-Xun at the School of Biological Sciences. The successful candidate will contribute to a project focused on enzyme discovery and synthetic biology.

Key Responsibilities

• The role will involve expression, purification, and biochemical characterization of enzymes, including biosynthetic proteins such as polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases.

• The candidate is expected to design and execute in vitro enzymatic assays, perform kinetic and mechanistic studies using LC–MS, HPLC, and spectroscopic methods, and contribute to pathway reconstitution and functional validation.

• Additional responsibilities may include participation in protein engineering or directed evolution campaigns, genome mining for novel biosynthetic enzymes, and collaboration with structural biology and computational teams.

• The Research Fellow will also be expected to contribute to manuscript preparation, dissemination of research findings, and reporting for competitive research grants, as well as provide guidance to graduate students and junior researchers in the laboratory.

Job Requirements

• Applicants should hold a PhD in biochemistry, chemical biology, enzymology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, or a closely related field, with a strong background in enzyme biochemistry and protein expression and purification.

• The ability to work independently, troubleshoot complex biochemical systems, and contribute effectively to collaborative research is required, along with a strong publication record and excellent scientific communication skills.

• Experience with polyketide synthases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, or other natural product biosynthetic systems, as well as protein engineering, directed evolution, synthetic biology, structural biology, or bioinformatics and genome mining, would be advantageous.

The College of Science seeks a diverse and inclusive workforce and is committed to equality of opportunity. We welcome applications from all and recruit on the basis of merit, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, or disability.

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Hiring Institution: NTU