Fully Funded PhD Studentship – Cellular Agriculture

Description:

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a fully funded (fees and stipend), full-time PhD position at the University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. University College Dublin is ranked within the top 1 % of higher education institutions world-wide. The project aims to develop in vitro meat products using appropriate farm animal cells (e.g. permanently differentiated and stem cells). State-of-the-art biofabrication (e.g. bioprinting, electrospinning) and cell culture (e.g. bioreactors, hypoxia chambers) technologies will be utilised. The produced cellular agriculture meat products will be characterised using an array of biochemical, biophysical, biomechanical and biological methods.

Funding Agency:

The project is funded from the European Research Council, Consolidator Grant.

Qualifications / Expertise:

The candidate should have a 1^st or 2:1 Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s in biomedical engineering, tissue engineering, cell biology, biology, connective tissue biology, biochemistry, food science and technology, or in a related area. The ideal candidate should have experience in as many of the following techniques: scaffold fabrication and characterisation; cell (permanently differentiated and stem cells) culture; molecular biology; protein and gene analysis; immunohistochemistry; and histology. The candidate should have excellent communication and organisational skills; be highly motivated and passionate about developing new products; and have strong written, oral and interpersonal skills. The candidate should be able to work independently and as a part of team.

Duties:

The successful candidate will be involved in: Scaffold fabrication and characterisation; Cell acquisition from animal tissues; In vitro biophysical, biomechanical, biochemical, biological characterisation of the produced cellular agriculture meat products; Conference and Meeting attendance and participation; Report and paper writing; Participation to training courses; Undergraduate teaching and/or laboratory demonstrations; Travel to project partners’ institutes; Other duties relevant to the post.

Start Date:

March 2023 or soon after that.

To Apply:

Applicants should submit a cover letter outlining their suitability to the post, a detailed CV, transcripts and the contact details of three referees. The application pack should be emailed to Prof. Dimitrios Zeugolis (dimitrios.zevgolis@ucd.ie). Closing date for receipt of applications is 12:00 on Friday, 24^th of February 2022.