Research Associate in Structural and Mechanistic Enzymology of Bacteriophage

Department

The Department of Biology is recognised as one of the leading and most accomplished departments at York, with a global reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. We are committed to fostering a supportive environment where staff and students can thrive, contribute their best, and achieve their full potential. We take great pride in holding the Athena Swan Gold Award.

A postdoctoral position is available to investigate the structure and infection mechanisms of bacteriophage. The focus will be on engineering bacteriophage enzymes for altered tropism towards different bacterial receptors, assaying their activity by LC-MS/HPLC and biochemical assays, analysis by TEM/SEM, and structure determination by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM. The successful candidate will join a collaborative and supportive environment in the Department of Biology, working closely with the Bayfield research group and the York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL).

Role

To conduct research under the supervision of senior colleagues and to contribute to the production of research, in particular to:

• Engineer enzymes to confer novel functionalities
• Assay enzyme activity using LC-MS/HPLC and biochemical assays
• Determine the chemical mechanisms underlying enzyme activity
• Determine enzyme structures using X-ray crystallography
• Analyse biological samples using TEM and SEM

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

• Undergraduate degree in Chemistry
• PhD in enzyme engineering, structural biology, biocatalysis and equivalent experience
• Knowledge of protein-ligand complex structure determination by X-ray crystallography
• Knowledge in enzyme engineering including mutant library construction
• Knowledge in enzyme assaying by LC-MS and HPLC
• Skills in generating structure- and AI-guided mutant libraries for altered enzyme specificity
• Skills in LC-MS and HPLC-based enzyme activity assays, including cofactor-dependent enzymes
• Skills in protein X-ray crystallography, including optimisation of protein-ligand complexes
• Skills in analysing proteins and bacteriophage by TEM, SEM/STEM and cryo-EM
• Familiarity with titering bacteriophage
• Published in the field of enzyme engineering and protein structure determination
• Demonstrated experience of characterising enzyme mechanisms and substrate specificity
• Interest in and enthusiasm for research on the enzyme engineering
• Highly developed communication skills to engage effectively with a wide ranging audience
• Ability to develop research objectives, projects and proposals for own and joint research
• Competency to conduct individual and collaborative research projects

When applying please upload a 2 page copy of your CV.

Interview date: August 2026

For informal enquiries: Please contact Dr Oliver Bayfield, oliver.bayfield@york.ac.uk

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

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