Research Associate in Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemical Engineering is seeking a researcher to undertake work on the development of an online bioreactor control strategy using real-time biosensor measurements. This builds on previous work in the group to develop E. coli whole-cell biosensors for metabolic monitoring of cultures. The project is funded by the Imperial College President’s Excellence Fund in Frontier Research. The project involves multidisciplinary...

Job listing information

• Reference ENG01506
• Date posted 15 December 2020
• Closing date 17 January 2021

Key information about the role

• Location South Kensington Campus (map)
• Position type Full time, fixed term
• Salary £40,858 – £48,340 plus benefits
• Department Department of Chemical Engineering
• Category Researcher / Non Clinical Researcher

Job description

Job summary

The Department of Chemical Engineering is seeking a researcher to undertake work on the development of an online bioreactor control strategy using real-time biosensor measurements. This builds on previous work in the group to develop E. coli whole-cell biosensors for metabolic monitoring of cultures. The project is funded by the Imperial College President’s Excellence Fund in Frontier Research. The project involves multidisciplinary interactions with the Rowlands group in Bioengineering who specialise in the development of devices for optical measurements.

Duties and responsibilities

Some of your key responsibilities will include:

• Process model development (mechanistic or data-driven)

• Growth and fluorescence assay of existing E coli whole-cell biosensors

• Analysing fluorescence data from biosensor responses

• Benchmark biosensor data against traditional metabolite measurements (e.g. HPLC)

• Development of feedback control strategy

Essential requirements

The successful candidate will have:

• A PhD (or equivalent) in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biotechnology, or a closely aligned field

• Experience in the development of process models, mechanistic or data-driven

• Experience in handling big datasets and applying relevant statistical methods

• Practical experience in microbiology, whole-cell biosensors and fluorescence assays (including associated data analysis)

• Experience working in a multidisciplinary research team and with presenting research to others of different backgrounds

• A creative approach to problem solving

Further information

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £36,045 - £39,183 per annum.

The post is available immediately for up to 16 months in the first instance. The post is based in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London (South Kensington Campus).

Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Dr Cleo Kontoravdi (cleo.kontoravdi98@imperial.ac.uk)

To apply, please select the “Apply now” button at the top of this page.  Please ensure you include a completed application form with your submission. 

Further information about the post is available in the job description.

Should you have any queries about the application process please contact chemeng.staffing@imperial.ac.uk

Closing date: Midnight Sunday 17 January 2021

For technical issues when applying online, please contact: recruitment@imperial.ac.uk

About Imperial College London

Imperial College London is the UK’s only university focussed entirely on science, engineering, medicine and business and we are consistently rated in the top 10 universities in the world.

We work in a multidisciplinary and diverse community for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle the big global challenges our complex world faces.

It’s our mission to achieve enduring excellence in all that we do for the benefit of society – and we are looking for the most talented people to help us get there.

Additional Information

All Imperial employees are expected to follow the 7 principles of Imperial Expectations.

In addition to the above, employees are required to observe and comply with all College policies and regulations. 

Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment.  We are an Athena SWAN Silver award winner, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident Employer and work in partnership with GIRES to promote respect for trans people.

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/