Food Microbiology Postdoctoral Fellow

Competition 979

This position offers a benefits package found at Postdoctoral Fellows Benefits.

Location - This role is in-person. Work primarily takes place at North Campus Edmonton, South Campus Edmonton, and the Blind Enthusiasm Brewery. 

Working at the University of Alberta

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Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people — from our students and community members, to our renowned researchers and innovators, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger and more just. Learn more.

Working for the Department

The Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science is looking for 1 full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to work with Dr. Ben Willing (Principle Investigator).

Position 

The position is part of the NSERC Alliance and Mitacs Accelerate funded project “Investigation of novel microorganisms and production methods to improve mixed fermentation beer quality” which is being carried out in collaboration with Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company in Edmonton, Alberta. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for performing microbiological analyses on a variety of sample and experiment types, including small scale synthetic communities, samples taken from production beer, and overseeing pilot scale mixed fermentation beer experiments at the University of Alberta’s Agri-Food Discovery Place.

The successful applicant should have a strong background in fermentation, with experience in larger scale fermentations and bioinformatics analysis considered an asset. The successful applicant will work closely with Blind Enthusiasm on the collection of samples and communication of results while collaborating with the labs of Dr. Michael Gänzle, Dr. James Harynuk, and Dr. Wendy Wismer to determine how microbial community dynamics influence the quality of these complex fermentations.

This postdoctoral appointment will have a wage of $50,000.00 - $65,000.00 CAN per annum commensurate with experience and will be for a three-year term which includes a benefits package

Duties 

• Perform a range of microbiological and chemical analyses with reproducible results
• Responsible for qualitative and statistical analysis of research data and communicating this information to the PI
• Works with a high degree of independence, and follows research directions developed by the PI
• Develops and performs experiments/analyses, troubleshoots experimental protocols, and adjusts methodology to attain desired results
• Prepare abstracts, research reports, and presentations under the direction of the PI
• Present research results at laboratory meetings, scientific conferences and other related events
• Provides guidance, training and oversight of summer students and graduate students
• Work effectively with other laboratory staff, industry partners, and collaborators

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Microbiology, Food Science, or a related field
• Proficient in molecular and classical microbiological techniques and analyses
• Ability to form and investigate their own hypothesis based on initial results
• Ability to collaborate and work in a team
• Strong verbal and written skills for effective presentation and manuscript preparation
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and writing skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of bioinformatic tools to analyse microbiome datasets, including metagenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics
• Experience in the integration of multi-omics datasets
• In-depth knowledge of microbial ecology, especially in the area of food fermentation
• Experience with metabolic modelling and integrating multivariate data from multiple sources (metagenomic metabolomic, metatranscriptomic)
• Strong publication record in a relevant field
• Ability to handle multiple simultaneous projects/goals