PhD – 2 PhD positions in Biorefinery and AgroBiotechnology – Belgium

PhD Opportunity in Biopesticides for Plant:Pathogen interactions ULB Brussels
The PhotoBiocatalysis Unit at the Crop production and Biostimulation Lab CPBL Department Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), is offering 2 exciting PhD positions: i)Biorefinery: scaling up enzyme production and purification for the conversion of biomass into oligosaccharides derived from lignocellulosic biorefineries; ii) AgroBiotechnology: focused on characterization of plant immune stimulants for designing new biopesticides and bio-elicitors molecules.

Project 1 Industrial PhD in Biorefinery: Overview
The research will span from molecular cloning of selected enzymes in yeast to the optimization of their expression in bioreactors, scaling from 2 liters to 200 liters, and ultimately to 10k liters. The latter two stages will be conducted in collaboration with our industrial partner—a leading Belgian biorefinery company—at their production facilities. Enzyme purification processes will accompany each scale-up stage. These enzymes will then be applied at pilot scale to convert various types of biomass into oligosaccharides. A key innovation of this project lies in the exploration of light-driven enzymatic activation. This will involve the design and development of a novel photobioreactor that integrates light as a renewable energy source, enabling the activation of biocatalysts in a scalable and efficient manner. The oligosaccharides produced will support a parallel PhD study investigating their potential to trigger plant immune responses in real agricultural field trials across Europe.
This industrial PhD is part of a multi-partner European consortium with high relevance to the biobased and biotech sectors. The work is not only innovative but also has clear potential for direct industrial application and future commercialization, including spinoff opportunities.

Project 2 PhD in Agrobiotechnology: Overview
The project builds on the group’s recent groundbreaking discovery of a new mechanism of plant immunity, triggered by the external application of lignocellulose-derived oligosaccharides. This discovery was published in Communications Biology (Nature Publishing Group, 2021): https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02226-7. Prospective candidates are encouraged to read it prior to applying. The research involves the characterization of the plant immune system and signalling events at molecular level. The focus will be on characterizing the intereactions between fungal pathogens and cereals, grape and tomato plants.     
This pioneering project offers a rare opportunity to characterize a previously unknown biological mechanism (thus high impact publications are expected), while contributing to the development of sustainable solutions in the agro-biotech sector. The work being financed by a EU-grant includes ongoing collaborations with leading Belgian and European companies in the biostimulants and Biorefinery sectors, offering real-world applications of the research. Indeed the optimized biopesticides and elicitors will be scaled-up (by another PhD) for field trials across all Europe, with opportunity to travel and follow the relative applications in Spain, Italy, Austria, Romania and Germany. The selected PhD candidate will work under the supervision of Prof. D. Cannella (to whom you can address questions for more information at david.cannella@ulb.be), and benefit from hands-on training and mentorship from senior researchers within the CPBL group. While a degree of confidentiality is required due to industrial involvement, scientific publications will be encouraged throughout the project.

Requirements

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