The fellowship is funded as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) project “B3PO – Better BioBased Polymer” under the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme.
The B3PO consortium comprises 9 academic laboratories with core expertise in biotechnology, organic polymer synthesis, and materials science, together with world-class industrial players in enzyme and polymer production, as well as four high-tech SMEs.
The transition to a sustainable, circular economy is a major global challenge, and chemists are essential in leading this transformation. Lignocellulosic feedstocks (LCF), sourced from locally available biomass, present a viable alternative to fossil resources and are a key focus of the European Green Deal. However, their effective use is complex and demands the combined expertise of chemistry, industrial biotechnology, polymer science, and materials engineering.
The B3PO initiative addresses this challenge through three main objectives:
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Dis-assembly – developing integrative “lignin-first” strategies for extraction, fractionation, and enzymatic functionalization of lignin.
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Bio-assembly – synthesizing new biobased polyesters from lignocellulosic feedstocks.
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Re-assembly – polymerizing the resulting biobased monomers into fully biobased polyesters.
Objectives and description of the DC06.
The Biosciences team at the Marseille Institute of Molecular Sciences is looking for a motivated PhD student in the field of biocatalysis. The PhD project will focus on the discovery and characterization of enzymes, the construction of biocatalytic cascade systems, and process optimization. The main part of your work will be carried out at iSm2 (AMU, Marseille, France), and a secondment placement (9 months) will take place at TUG university(Graz, Austria). Additionally, a secondment placement at a company is foreseen (3 months).
The PhD candidate will also be required to participate in the training and workshop organized by the B3PO MSCA-DN. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellow, the candidate will be required to contribute to the dissemination of the project’s results through public engagement activities and scientific communication platforms.
Requirements for the applicant
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The applicant should have completed a Master’s degree or equivalent (before the start of Recruitment) from a recognized university in Biochemistry, Biotechnology or Chemistry and should be eligible as graduate student at AMU.Background / experience in molecular biology or bioprocesses would be beneficial.
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The applicant should show interest in conducting a research project independently and should enjoy the work in an international, interdisciplinary environment.
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The applicant should have an excellent command of the English language at a proficient level (spoken and written) and the willingness to learn the local language of the recruiting country.
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The candidate must not have lived in France for more than 12 months during the 3 years immediately preceding the start date of the contract.
Application Procedure
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To apply for the position, kindly provide: (i) a letter of motivation including a 1-page statement of your research interests, relevant skills and experience; (ii) a CV including publication list (if available); (iii) copies of university degrees and courses; and (iv) names and e-mail addresses of two scientists who can serve as references. All materials should be attached as a single PDF file (max. size 5MB). Contacts @email, @email, @email.