Postdoc in cereal cell wall structure and food technology

 

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.

You will be a part of the Division of Glycoscience at the Department of Chemistry at KTH, which is a multidisciplinary environment with competences on molecular biology, biochemistry and materials sciences towards the use of natural polymers for the environment and health.

Job description

We are amidst a transition to a biobased and circular economy, where agricultural side streams constitute valuable raw materials. Wheat bran constitutes the main by-product from wheat milling and it is currently mostly used as animal feed. However, wheat bran contains valuable biomolecules (structural polysaccharides, proteins, and phenolics), with great potential to produce new food ingredients and materials. Biorefinery processing of wheat bran is usually performed via alkaline, hydrothermal and enzymatic treatments. However, the complex interactions between the molecular components in wheat bran hinders their efficient fractionation.

The postdoctoral researcher will perform research to understand the interconnectivity between cell wall components from the molecular to the nanoscale, which hinder efficient fractionation of wheat bran in a biorefinery context. For this, the postdoctoral researcher will integrate biochemical characterization of the cell wall components, together with spectroscopic (NMR and nano-IR) and advanced synchrotron X-ray techniques. The project will be performed as a collaboration between KTH, Lund University and the industrial partner Lantmännen.

What we offer

• A position at a leading technical university that generates knowledge and skills for a sustainable future.
• Engaged and ambitious colleagues along with a creative, international and dynamic working environment
• The PhD student will be part as well of Nordic Lights on Food, which brings together expertise in food science and characterization methods using neutrons and X-rays.
• Works in Stockholm, in close proximity to nature
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH

Read more about what it is like to work at KTH

Qualifications

Requirements

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree in food science/technology, material sciences, nanotechnology, biotechnology or related disciplines. This eligibility requirement must be met no later than the time the employment decision is made. 
• The candidate must have practical research competence by the documented record of scientific publications on several of the following areas: (i) extraction and modification of polysaccharide and/or protein components from cereals or other plant biomass resources, (ii) polysaccharide (bio)chemistry and molecular characterization of polysaccharides; and/or (iii) structural characterization of soft matter using solid-state techniques, including NMR and infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray scattering techniques.
• The candidate should have excellent communication in scientific English, both orally and written.
• As a person, you should show independence to plan and perform your research experiments after discussion with the team, and excellent cooperation abilities with the researchers in the project at KTH, Lund University and Lantmännen, and within the research group at KTH.
• Research expertise
• Teaching abilities
• Awareness of diversity and equal opportunity issues, with specific focus on gender equality

Preferred qualifications

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline. 
• Competence on the use of advanced methods for carbohydrate analysis, including chromatography and mass spectrometry, is desirable.
• Proof of (co)-supervision of doctoral, master and bachelor degree students is also desirable.
• Awareness of diversity and equal treatment issues with a special focus on gender equality and sustainability is a merit.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal competency

Trade union representatives

You will find contact information to trade union representatives at KTH's webbpage.

Application

• CV including relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Copy of diplomas and grades from your previous university studies. Translations into English or Swedish if the original documents have not been issued in any of these languages.
• Brief account of why you want to conduct research, your academic interests and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. Max two pages long.
• Brief description of which analytical methods and techniques you would use to characterize the multiscale structure (from the molecular to the nanoscale) of wheat bran. Max 1 page long

Log into KTH's recruitment system in order to apply to this position. You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad.

Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

About the employment

The position offered is for, at the most, two years.

A position as a postdoctoral fellow is a time-limited qualified appointment focusing mainly on research, intended as a first career step after a dissertation.

Others

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

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Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

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