Professor Chrissie Rey

 POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

Project Title: Regional microbial signatures in South African and Austrian vineyards

Scope of Research: The project is focused on understanding vineyard microbial ecosystems, in particular the influence of region of origin on the mycobiota of grapes. The postdoctoral candidate will have the opportunity to work on individual research as well as to work within a team (doctoral, masters and Hons level students), and in addition, to gain experience in supervision.

Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics
University of the Western Cape
South Africa

The Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics (IMBM) is a leading research unit based within the Department of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The Institute is a global competitor in microbial biotechnology and metagenomics, and is committed to excellence in research and in the training of future research leaders. Its research encompasses a number of disciplines including microbiology,(meta)genomics, molecular biology, enzymology and bioinformatics, and employs culture-based approaches as well as cutting edge ”omics” strategies.

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (18‐month appointment)

Project Title: Engineering yeast strains for biofuel production

CAREER OPPORTUNITY
The CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) is a leading scientific and technology research organisation, implementing projects throughout Africa and making a difference in people’s lives.

Postdoctoral Researcher: Biomanufacturing of Protein and Enzyme Reagents

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2016) at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

A postdoctoral research fellowship is available related to an exciting research project related to Plant Biotechnology/ Plant Molecular Biology. I require a postdoctoral fellow who has general experience in microbiology; functional genomics; plant pathology; bioinformatics and plant molecular biology (specifically having worked with plant viruses would be a bonus but not entirely necessary) for two years, with renewal after one year based on performance and progress. The position is open from 1st July 2016.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP on TB Transmission
Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Cape Town

South Africans/permanent South African residence holders with a PhD in any of the following fields: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or Biotechnology are invited to apply for a postdoctoral position that has arisen in Prof. Shonhai’s laboratory based at the University of Venda, Limpopo.

The selected candidate will be required to conduct research on the role of heat shock proteins in the development and pathogenicity of malaria parasites. Prof. Shonhai is a recipient of a prestigious Georg Foster Fellowship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt (Germany) and a National Research Foundation of South Africa C-rated scientist. His research is funded by the Germany Research Foundation (DFG), the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the University of Venda.

Prof. Shonhai’s lab boasts equipment such as gel imagers, 96 well plate readers with fluorescence and UV/VIS capabilities, thermo-controlled free standing centrifuges, SDS-PAGE, Western blot and agarose electrophoresis units, shaker incubators, etc. His lab team collaborates with colleagues based at several local institutions such as Witswatersrand University, University of Zululand, and Rhodes University. He also collaborates with groups based at Marburg University, Technical University of Munich and Karlsruhe, Germany.

For further details, please contact Prof. Shonhai; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or phone, 0159628723 (office)

Reseach details:

Plant biomass-derived bioethanol is regarded as a leading alternative energy source in a fossil fuel dependent energy paradigm. Bioethanol functions as octane enhancer, and can be used to replace up to 15% of petrol. It also acts as a fuel oxygenate in petrol blends allowing more complete combustion and hence, decreased polluting emissions. The departments of Microbiology and Process Engineering at Stellenbosch University, through the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Biofuels, are at the forefront of South African research to address the shortcomings of plant polysaccharide conversion to bioethanol. Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were engineered to simultaneously hydrolyse plant materials (cellulose and raw starch) and ferment the resulting monosaccharides through the development of enabling technologies such as advanced plant polysaccharides pretreatment and advanced Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP). Simplification and cost-reduction of the hydrolysis-fermentation process can be further achieved by integrating superior enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation with more robust yeast into a single unit operation. To achieve this, supportive bioinformatics research dedicated to solving current problems in bioethanol biotechnology, specifically improved industrial performance of yeast strains and improved catalytic efficiency of enzyme hydrolysis, remain key.