The group of Dr Evangelos Tatsis based at the Shanghai Institute for Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE) invites applications from talented highly motivated scientists to join the group as Research Assistant at the level of Assistant Professor.

Group Description

The fundamental goal of our group is to determine how plants make natural products. Our major focus is to elucidate, understand and engineer the metabolic pathways which are responsible for the biosynthesis of natural products from Chinese medicinal plants. To address these important goals, we have an approach based on genomic resources, utilizing bioinformatics, molecular biology and enzymology techniques, with synthetic biology. Our lab is part of the Centre of Excellence for Plant & Microbial Science (CEPAMS) a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) https://www.cepams.org/tatsis-lab.

Job Description

We are seeking for a research assistant at the level of CAS Assistant Professor with primary duties: (1) to conduct independent research in the field of biosynthesis of natural products in a multidisciplinary approach utilising modern molecular biology and biochemistry techniques. It is expected that the successful candidate will contribute critically to development and establishment of experimental protocols and procedures; (2) to contribute to writing, submitting grant applications, reports and have the ability to accurately translate documents from English into Chinese and vice versa.

The postholder will work closely with the project leader Dr Evangelos Tatsis, as well as the post-docs and students within the group. The successful applicant is expected to interact with other scientific staff of SIPPE as well as with the administration and supporting services of SIPPE. Training and mentoring students, as well as assisting and advising other lab members are also essential to this role.

Qualifications

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate who has a PhD in Biological Chemistry or in any other discipline related to Natural Products Research. Biochemistry skills and experience in enzymology, and protein expression are considered essential. Additional experience and skills in natural product isolation and structure elucidation, organic synthesis, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, LCMS based metabolomics and bioinformatics are also desirable.

Candidates with background in structural biology, plant biology, synthetic biology, analytical chemistry and organic chemistry are strongly encouraged and welcomed to apply.

The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated individual, capable of independent creative thinking with analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to communicate clearly, work independently, and interact collaboratively is essential as well as good communication and interpersonal skills.

The successful candidate should have strong attention to detail, excellent English and Chinese speaking, reading and writing skills.

To Apply: Applications in English only. Please send your CV, cover letter, and two references to Evangelos Tatsis etatsis@sippe.ac.cn and Dan Tao taodan@sippe.ac.cn. Informal enquiries are welcomed.