Future Science Platforms are an investment in science that underpins innovation and that has the potential to help reinvent and create new industries for Australia. To position Australia to build a vibrant synthetic biology research and development community to support the bio-based industries and ecoengineering activities of tomorrow, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation – CSIRO has established the Synthetic Biology FSP (SynBioFSP). Synthetic Biology (SynBio) is the design and construction of biological parts, devices, and organisms (usually based on DNA-encoded componentry); and their application for useful purposes.

As a postdoctoral fellow on our team, you will be a part of a project of which the overall objective is to build a platform for reliable resynthesis of a lichen symbiosis by focusing on two aims:

• Creating novel devices to manipulate interactions among symbionts and lichen-colonising microbes;
• Using ‘omic approaches to characterise key features of lichen development.

This role will focus on both aims and will work in conjunction with experts on lichen biology, ‘omics, device design and fabrication, and network modelling to achieve them.

Your duties will include: 

• Documenting cellular changes in the fungal and algal partners during lichen development, using various microscopy techniques, and by collecting liquid and/or cellular samples to generate genomic, proteomic, transcriptomic, lipidomic and metabolomic data.
• Performing quality control and assembly of high throughput sequencing data, as well as the annotation of reference genomes for the fungal and algal study species.
• Engaging with external collaborators and the Australian nanotechnology community to develop expertise in the design and fabrication of micro- and mesoscale devices that will be used to manipulate interactions between the fungal and algal partners during lichen development.
• Liaising with internal and external collaborators to collate the omics data and analyse these data with the help of a systems biology modeller who is part of the project team.

To be successful, you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as plant or fungal molecular biology and microbiology.
• The ability to independently design, plan, and implement multiple culture experiments involving micro-organisms in a time-efficient manner.
• Experience with using micro-organisms (preferably fungi or microalgae) in research experiments, including working in sterile conditions, isolating/manipulating single cells, and co-culturing micro-organisms.
• Technical capability in plant and/or fungal molecular biology, including DNA or RNA extractions, high throughput sequencing, and genome assembly.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, regionally dispersed research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research.
• A record of science innovation and creativity, plus the ability & willingness to incorporate novel ideas and approaches into scientific investigations.

Contact:

If after reading the position details above you require more information please contact: Dr Cécile Gueidan via email: Cecile.Gueidan@csiro.au