PhD in the field of Materials Chemistry: Functionalizing Medical Silks in Gießen bei BR

Are you someone with a passion for science and who enjoys working across scientific interfaces? Are you ambitious, self-motivated with the skills to develop new ideas and utilise chemistry to functionalise biomaterials? Then this PhD is an ideal opportunity for you. For in vivo applications medical materials must meet stringent requirements including biocompatibility, biodegradability and appropriate mechanical properties. Processing biomaterials under mild conditions to preserve their biological activity is critical. Few materials meet all these requirements, however the biopolymer silk is emerging as a strong contender.

What you will do

• Extraction of silk fibroin using bespoke raw silks
• Manufacturing fibroin material formats
• Material functionalization using a spectrum of physicochemical approaches
• Characterization of primary and secondary structures of fibroin (e.g. SDS-PAGE, LCMS, NMR and FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, fluorescence microscopy)
• Uncovering process-dependent structure-property correlations

What you bring to the table

• Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Chemistry, Pharmacy, Biology or a related discipline
• Strong background in Organic, Analytical and Physical Chemistry
• Knowledge in the areas of material development and applied analytical characterization techniques
• Self-driven and independent but also team and goal-oriented work style
• Strong command of the English language.
• Willingness to travel between our laboratory sites

What you can expect

By joining this PhD programme, you will be part of a world-class research programme in the fields of biopolymers and materials sciences for healthcare. As a PhD candidate, you will be employed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Gießen, which is an established research centre encompassing the fields of bioresources and insect biotechnology. The Seib lab (www.Seiblab.com) is an interdisciplinary group developing medical silks with its hub at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and spokes at the University of Strathclyde (UK) and Fraunhofer IME (FhG IME Giessen, Germany). The ultimate mission of this PhD is to design silk-based wound healing substrates. To further expand our team, we are - in cooperation with our university partners - recruiting PhD candidate starting October 1st, 2024 (fixed-term employment of 3 years). The full-time position with half-time pay offers 50% of the working time for your doctorate and 50% for the collaboration in the research project as a research assistant. The work is supervised by Dr. Christoph Hellmann and Prof. Philipp Seib. First interviews will take place on July 4, 2024.

We value and promote the diversity of our employees' skills and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability. Appointment, remuneration and social security benefits based on the public-sector collective wage agreement (TVöD).

Interested? Apply online now. We look forward to getting to know you!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this position:

Désirée Schulz
E-Mail: gi-personal@ime.fraunhofer.de

Phone: +49 641 972-19203

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Bioresources institute branch

Requisition Number: 73938 Application Deadline: 06/30/2024