Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Biology

These positions are part of a new 24-month BBSRC-funded project “Engineering insects for novel food/feed and waste management.” The aim is to develop, through synthetic biology, novel strains of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, BSF) tailored to specific food/feed/waste-management applications.

Insects are highly efficient feed converters with enormous potential for low-carbon food production and waste-management. Direct use for humans at scale remains a marketing challenge; major current applications including fish and poultry feed, and pet food. Additionally, some insects can convert low-value organic waste into insect biomass. BSF has increasingly garnered international attention for its exceptional ability to bio-convert nutrient-poor organic waste feed into body mass suitable for animal consumption and fertilisers for plants. As the use of BSF larvae as animal feed is relatively new, research has focused on testing the range of substrates it can utilise as food and optimising mass rearing methods for bioconversion efficiency. However, selective breeding and mass rearing can only do so much - fundamental biological limitations will still apply despite having the best genetics and rearing protocol.

In short, BSF has enormous potential but wild-type insects are not ideal for all applications – this proposal aims to develop a platform and prototypes for rational engineering of BSF. We will develop two example applications - to expand the range of input material it can utilise, and to adjust the composition of the insect to add value to harvested product.  

Nominal start date is April 2024 but potentially negotiable. This new team comprises several roles, including these two postdoctoral positions but also five graduate RA and technician positions.

Role

The core of the project is to develop and test (i) components, modules and systems for metabolic-engineering in BSF, in relation to lipid composition; (ii) gene-editing methods to provide targeted modifications to the BSF genome. Correspondingly, the main component of the role is insect genetic studies (design and development of new transgenic/gene edited strains, rearing and colony maintenance, phenotypic analysis, experimental design and statistical analysis). Considerable iteration, i.e. trial-and-error, is likely, requiring intensive, efficient working from the outset to achieve the desired goals within the 24-month funded period. Additional responsibilities include molecular biology (design and development of novel plasmids, molecular analysis of transgenic strains), communicating progress and data including assisting with manuscript preparation, and training/supervising other staff/students as required.

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

• PhD in a relevant biological science, or equivalent
• Knowledge of relevant research techniques/methodologies.
• Good communication skills, ability to write-up research work for publication in high profile journals
• Experience of (i) working with insects and/or (ii) synthetic biology especially metabolic-engineering in eukaryotes, e.g. fatty-acid metabolism. The suite of necessary technical skills will be built across the project team of seven staff; at this postdoc level we are particularly looking for synthetic biology/metabolic-engineering experience, preferably in eukaryotes. However, other project-related technical skills may be acceptable, depending on the complementary skills of other applicants.

Interview date: to be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Prof Luke Alphey (luke.alphey@york.ac.uk) 

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork

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