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.

Wir bieten

• Vereinbarkeit Beruf und Privatleben: Flexible Arbeitsmodelle (z.B. Teilzeitarbeit, Mobiles Arbeiten, Jobsharing), Kinderbetreuung bei der Stiftung kihz der UZH und ETH
• Lernen und Entwicklung: Vielfältige Weiterbildungsangebote der UZH und des Kantons Zürich, Sprachenzentrum der UZH und ETH Zürich
• Verpflegung: Vergünstigte Verpflegung in den Mensen und Cafeterias der UZH, Lunch-Check-Karte mit Verpflegungsbeitrag der UZH
• Gesundheit: Sonderkonditionen beim Akademischen Sportverband ASVZ, Kostenlose saisonale Grippeimpfungen, Entspannung im Relax Uniturm
• Vergünstigungen: Mobilität: Carsharing, Autovermietung, Parkplatz, Digitalisierung: Geräte, Programme, Mobile-Abo
• Anstellungsbedingungen: Grundsätze der UZH, Öffentlich-rechtliche Anstellung für die meisten Mitarbeitenden der UZH
• International Services: Unterstützungsangebote für Personen aus dem Ausland
• Standorte: Campus Zürich Zentrum, Zürich Irchel, Oerlikon und Schlieren, Standorte Zürich West, Alter Botanischer Garten, Botanischer Garten und Lengg