Doctoral Position in Synthetic Biology: The CSIC Doctoral Network invites applications for a fully funded PhD position focused on synthetic biology, plant metabolic engineering, and biomanufacturing. The project aims to identify and engineer biosynthetic pathways for high-value metabolites—specifically the natural food colorant azafrin—and to design synthetic gene circuits enabling its sustainable production in microbial and plant-based biofactories.
Gene Mining and Synthetic Gene Circuits for Plant Biopharming
CSIC Doctoral Network in Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biomolecular and Cellular Systems
Reference: IBMCP#1-P1
🎓 Designation
PhD Researcher / Doctoral Candidate
🔬 Research Area
- Synthetic Biology (Top-down)
- Plant Biotechnology
- Metabolic Engineering
- Gene Circuit Design
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
📍 Location
Plant Genomics and Biotechnology Lab (IBMCP), CSIC – UPV, Valencia, Spain
Supervisors:
- Dr. Diego Orzáez
Plant Genomics & Biotechnology Lab
Email: dorzaez@ibmcp.upv.es
Lab: http://pgb.ibmcp.csic.es - Dr. Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción
Carotenoid & Isoprenoid Biotechnology Lab
Email: manuelrc@ibmcp.upv.es
Lab: https://ibmcp.upv.es/grupos_investigacion/carotenoid-and-isoprenoid-biotechnology/
🎯 Eligibility / Qualification
Applicants should have:
- A Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology, Molecular Biology, or related fields.
- Strong skills in molecular biology and bioinformatics.
- Basic understanding of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.
- Interest in plant metabolic pathways, gene circuit design, and biomanufacturing.
📘 Job Description / Project Overview
The successful candidate will work on reconstructing and optimizing plant metabolic pathways to enable sustainable bioproduction of azafrin—a valuable natural apocarotenoid used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Key Objectives:
- Gene Identification: Discover genes involved in azafrin biosynthesis from carotenoid precursors.
- Genetic Circuit Engineering: Design tunable synthetic gene circuits for controlled azafrin production in microbial and plant hosts.
- Plant Biopharming Optimization: Engineer plant biofactories for high-yield azafrin production.
Research Approaches Include:
- Metabolic modeling and multi-omics gene mining
- Combinatorial use of synthetic promoters and regulatory elements
- Automated and computational biocircuit design tools
Expected Impact:
- Establish a sustainable production route for natural food colorants
- Advance clean-label ingredient development
- Support environmentally friendly biomanufacturing
- Contribute to future drug development through engineered apocarotenoid pathways
Secondments:
Candidates will undertake research stays with industry partners such as:
- MadeInPlant – specialized Nicotiana benthamiana biopharming platforms
- Naplatec – producer of apocarotenoids in tomato
These secondments aim to enhance training, strengthen industrial collaboration, and accelerate product development.
📝 How to Apply
Interested candidates should prepare the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Cover Letter / Statement of Interest
- Academic Records (BSc + MSc transcripts)
- Contact information of referees (if required)
Submit your full application directly to the project supervisors via email:
(Include “Application for IBMCP#1-P1 Doctoral Position” in the subject line.)
⏰ Last Date to Apply
Open now
