"PhD position Chemical synthesis of complex bacterial glycans"

Job description

In the NWO-Vidi project 'Healthy sugars for a healthy gut', a fully funded 4-year PhD position is available in the Chemical Glycobiology group of Prof. Marthe Walvoort, in the division of Chemical Biology at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen. Research in the Walvoort group is dedicated to understanding the structure-activity relation of carbohydrates, combining the powers of synthetic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology. One area deals with synthetic method development and production of health-beneficial oligosaccharide structures. The other area is dedicated to the investigation of bacterial protein glycosylation to the point where we can start exploiting it to generate novel antibacterial therapies.

What are you going to do?

Bifidobacteria produce a unique extracellular sugarcoat, the glycocalyx, which is rich in exopolysaccharides. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are associated with many human-host benefits, including immune signal modulation, anti-pathogen effects, and a healthy gut, but a clear understanding of which exopolysaccharides are responsible for which health effects is missing. Currently, the only method to obtain exopolysaccharides is through isolation from bacterial culture broths, resulting in low yields and often low purities of exopolysaccharide samples. This makes it challenging to directly prove structure-activity relationships related to the bifidobacterial beneficial effects.

The goal of this PhD project is to develop chemical synthesis methods to produce a variety of bifidobacterial exopolysaccharides. Using a modular approach, different lengths and levels of complexity will be obtained. Also novel sugar-nucleotides and glycolipids will be synthesized. In collaboration, the resulting EPS structures will be tested for their functional effects in intestinal model systems and lay the foundation to prove bifidobacterial health effects. This PhD project will be in close collaboration with a PhD project on the enzymatic production of EPS structures within the same NWO-Vidi project, promoting an interdisciplinary approach to this synthetic challenge.

Requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic and talented PhD candidate with:

• A MSc degree in (synthetic) organic chemistry, or equivalent certification.
• Strong experimental background in synthetic organic (carbohydrate) chemistry.
• Research experience in the field of carbohydrate chemistry will be seen as a strong asset.
• Capacity to think analytically and creatively.
• High motivation in pursuing academic research.
• Ability to work in an international team and collaborate with several research centers in Europe in a streamlined and professional way.
• An integrative and cooperative personality with excellent communicative and social skills.
• Fluent proficiency in English – written and oral.

Conditions of employment

What can you expect from us?

232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.

End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.

Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.