Research Assistant/Associate

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary
Research Assistant £32,546 - £33,482 per annum.
Research Associate £35,116 - £45,413 per annum.

The Role
The School of Natural and Environmental Science is looking to appoint a Research Assistant/Associate in sustainable industrial biopolymers for the beauty and hair care sector.

The position will support and grow Newcastle University's strategic partnership with Procter & Gamble (P&G) a world leader in consumer products with global markets and impact. A variety of synthetic and naturally derived polymers are used in beauty and hair care formulations to provide functionalities including pH, stability and viscosity control, sensory profile, texturing and structuring. In this project, we are seeking to develop the next generation of biopolymer that are naturally and sustainably sourced and with excellent post-use biodegradability profiles.

The project goals will include (but necessarily limited to):

• Discovery of new biopolymers (focusing on polysaccharides) from natural sources (for example plants, algae and microbes) that possess desired in-product functionalities without the need for post-extraction chemical modification(s). It is expected that such unmodified polymers would be inherently biodegradable.
• Developing novel blends of polymers. Such blends could consist solely of natural unmodified polymers, or mixtures of unmodified and modified polymers. If the later, then the overall non- biodegradable component would not be eliminated but would be reduced.
• 'Smart substitutions'. This explores the possibility that chemical substitutions that provide required in-product functionalities are stably attached to polysaccharides under conditions of product storage and use but become labile under post-use conditions in the environment. This could conceivably be achieved by for example, exploiting differences in pH occurring between storage/usage and post-use in the environment, or by specifically engineering biodegradable sites into the chemical substitutions.

To find out more about the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, please click here.

If you would like to have an informal conversation about this role, please contact Professor William Willats (william.willats@ncl.ac.uk).

To apply, please attach your CV and a cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria for the position, as outlined in the Person Specification of the Job Description (available on the university's website, accessed by the 'Apply' button). Any requested additional documents required as part of your application, should be included within the same file as your cover letter. The total file size must not exceed 10MB.

This post is fixed-term until 25th April 2026.

Qualifications

• PhD at or near completion in biology, biochemistry, polymer chemistry or a related field.

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