Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP)
Postdoctoral Position in
Glycosyltransferases and phytohormones
(Ref. xxxx)
A 10-month BBSRC-funded postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of
Professor Dianna Bowles. The post-holder will study members of the Arabidopsis
thaliana Family 1 of UDP-glucose glycosyltransferases (UGTs) with activity towards
phytohormones. The research project covers an in vitro biochemical characterisation
of UGTs and understanding their role in planta by transgenic means. The successful
candidate will have had a PhD, training in plant molecular biology and biochemistry,
and a strong background in UGTs and plant hormone. The post holder must be able to
start at the beginning of January 2006. Salary is up to £23,643 per annum.
Closing date for applications is (three weeks after advert). Further information and
details of how to apply are available from the Personnel Office, University of York,
Heslington, York YO10 5DD or e-mail: jobs@york.ac.uk quoting the appropriate ref.
number, or see http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/persnl/jobs/research.htm
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
CNAP
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
REF: ***********
Further information for Candidates
The advertised position is for a postdoctoral researcher to join the Professor Dianna Bowles
laboratory within CNAP. Her research group comprises ten members, including five post-docs,
three PhD students and two research technicians.
The Prof. Bowles’ group studies the Family 1 UDP-glucose glycosyltransferase (UGT) of
Arabidopsis thaliana. These UGTs catalyse the transfer of a sugar moiety from an activated sugar
donor (usually UDP-glucose in plants) to small acceptor molecules such as secondary
metabolites, phytohormones and xenobiotics (pesticides and herbicides). The conjugation of the
acceptor to a carbohydrate is believed to affect its biological activity by changing the stability,
solubility and/or reactivity of the molecule (for reviews see: Lim and Bowles, 2004; Bowles et al,
2005). We have recently identified one UGT (UGT73C5) which, when overexpressed in
Arabidopsis plants, produces a brassinosteroid (BR) deficient phenotype suggesting that this
UGT could be involved in the homoestasis of BRs (Poppenberger et al., 2005). The project will
involve the characterisation of related UGTs with potentially redundant functions.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
JOB TITLE: POSTDOCTORAL PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST
Essential
Qualifications
First degree and a PhD in
plant sciences or a related
topic.
Knowledge
General knowledge of
plant biology,
biochemistry and
molecular biology. Strong
background in plant
hormones.
Skills/abilities/competencies
Ability to plan, prioritise
Desirable
Knowledge of plant
brassinosteroids.
Working experience with
gene expression analysis
Experience
Personal Attributes
and complete experiments
efficiently to a high
standard with minimal
supervision.
such as microarray
analysis and real time
PCR, RNA silencing.
Plant molecular biology
methods such as plant
transformation, plant
RNA and DNA extraction,
PCR, genotyping, etc.
Experience in analytical
biochemistry such as in
the use of HPLC.
Arabidopsis genetics.
Ability to think critically
and design and execute
sound experimental
strategies. Enthusiasm
and an ability to
communicate effectively.
Ability to produce
experimental data in a
timely fashion and to
maintain clear records.
About the Biology Department
The Department of Biology at the University of York is a highly-rated research department
(RAE grade 5), and the University is always within the top 10 on research assessments; top 2 on
teaching assessments. The Department comprises over 50 academic staff and independent
research fellows. There are over 270 post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, postgraduate
students and technicians who conduct research on an array of topics from the molecular to the
community levels. The value of competitive research awards and contracts currently open in
the Biology Department exceeds £20,000,000.
The Department was recently awarded £21 million from the Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF) to
establish a new research infrastructure: 3 new buildings: research laboratories and a
Technology Facility (see below); refurbishment of existing research space, capital equipment
and reorganised centralised support functions. The new buildings opened in July 2002.
Further information about the Department may be found on our website at:
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/biol/ .
About CNAP
CNAP http://www.cnap.org.uk/ is an academic research centre within the Department of
Biology at York, and is supported by substantial core funding to establish a wide-ranging
research programme, IP development office and centre infrastructure. CNAP is located in the
new £21 million bioscience development on the York campus, adjacent to: (1) research
laboratories of the Biology Department; (2) a Technology Facility encompassing state-of-the-art
molecular facilities; and (3) the Structural Biology Laboratory of the Department of Chemistry
(SBL), with expertise in X-ray crystallography, protein engineering and molecular modeling.
About the Technology Facility
The new Technology Facility is key in enabling our researchers to gain access to state-of-the-art
equipment and the associated expertise to use such equipment effectively. Created as part of the
recent JIF award, the Technology Facility is centrally located within the Department and has
some 2,000m2 of laboratory space, £5 million of new equipment, and 16 expert staff members.
The Technology Facility is organised into the following six specialist laboratories, each led by an
experienced technologist with trained technical support:
• Imaging & Cytometry : Confocal microscopy (laser scanning and spinning disc), live cell
imaging, FRET and FRAP studies, TEM and SEM, cryostage and freeze fracture facilities, flow
cytometry (analyser and sorter), laser capture microdissection.
• Nucleic Acids : Genotyping – microsatellites, AFLPs, SNPs, DNA sequencing; Gene
expression analysis – Affymetrix and custom arrayer; Real-time (quantitative) PCR; RNA
quality analyser.
• Proteomics and Analytical Biochemistry : Proteomics – 2-D gel electrophoresis, protein
identification by mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS/MS; LC-MS/MS), shotgun proteomics (LC-ES,
LC-MALDI, ICAT); Metabolite analysis by LC-MS; Elemental analysis by ICP-Optical Emission
Spectrometry; Range of other analytical techniques.
• Protein Production : Bacterial, yeast, insect and mammalian cell expression systems;
Fermenter capacity for all expression systems; Cell harvesting, extraction and protein
purification systems.
• Molecular Interactions : UV/VIS and fluorescence spectrometry, stopped flow rapid kinetic
system, circular dichromator with stopped flow / quench flow attachment, analytical
ultracentrifugation, isothermal titration calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, protein mass
spectrometry.
• Bioinformatics : drop-in / training area with Windows and UNIX high performance
computers, terabyte hierarchical data storage system, specialised software tools, computing
system and data analysis expertise.
An essential aim of establishing the Technology Facility is to provide an environment that
encourages collaborative programmes between research groups. Since Biology is a large
integrated Department spanning many diverse interests, researchers using the Technology
Facility encompass molecular ecologists and plant scientists through to cancer researchers,
mammalian physiologists and protein chemists. With the co-location of SBL and Biology in the
new building, biological questions are increasingly being addressed using biochemical and
chemical technologies with input of structural studies using X-ray crystallography.
The Director of the Technology Facility, Dr John Pillmoor, together with the expert
technologists leading each specialised laboratory, play a central role in (1) promoting wider
awareness and potential applications of existing techniques to academics, post-doctoral
researchers and postgraduates within the Department; (2) providing training in the new
technologies through both individual tuition and courses; and (3) developing new technologies
using the skill-base and facilities available to them, often in collaboration with the instrument
manufacturers.
The University of York
The University of York is relatively new (from the 1960's) but has established itself, in terms of
its research and teaching reputations, in the top 10 of all criteria published by the UK
Government in the last 3 years. In the recent national research assessment exercise, York gained
a disproportionate number of 5 and 5* ratings (top scoring) for its size, and as a direct result of
the funding formula which follows this exercise has seen an increase in real terms in its support
of almost 8%, ranking third behind only Oxford and Cambridge. The University has three very
large Science Departments (Chemistry, Biology and Physics), with increasing prominence given
to Health Sciences and Economics, Psychology, and particularly Computer Science, all of which
did outstandingly well in the research assessment. The new Hull York Medical School is a
further addition to the University.
The University occupies an attractive campus environment 2 km from the city, and the
Department of Biology is located on the edge of the University Campus
(http://www.york.ac.uk/) at Heslington, approximately a 20-minute walk to the historic city of
York. The University has a range of facilities including restaurants, bars, shops and sports
facilities, providing a pleasant working environment for all its employees.
The historic City of York (http://www.york-tourism.co.uk/) enjoys excellent rail links with the
rest of the UK: the high-speed East Coast line provides a regular service which enables access to
London within 1 hr 40 min and to Edinburgh within 2 hr 15 min. There is also a direct rail link
to Manchester Airport and good access to the Leeds/Bradford Airport, both international
airports. York is also close to the coast and Yorkshire Dales with excellent access to outdoor
activities (hiking, mountain biking, climbing), and within a 3 hour drive of the Lake District.
Salary
Salary is up to £23,643 per annum on Grade IA of the scales for Research staff. This post is
available at the beginning of January 2006 for a period of ten months.
The candidate appointed may, immediately upon starting his/her employment, join USS – the
Universities’ Superannuation Scheme – which involves a personal contribution of 6.35% of
salary and a University contribution equal to 14% of salary.
How to Apply
Please send four copies of the following:
 letter of application
 full curriculum vitae, including the names and addresses (and e-mail addresses
wherever possible) of three referees.
 Any recent publications
Your application should be sent, together with one copy of your completed equal opportunities
monitoring form, to the Personnel & Staff Development Office, University of York, Heslington,
YORK YO10 5DD. Please quote reference number ********* when applying. Please note that emailed applications will not be accepted.
The closing date for receipt of applications is (3 weeks after advert)
The University will assume that it is free to approach referees at any stage unless the candidate
states otherwise in his/her application (i.e. candidates who wish a referee or referees to be
approached only with their specific permission and/or if they were called to interview, are
asked to state such requirements explicitly alongside the details of the relevant referee(s)).
It is anticipated that interviews for the post will be held as soon as possible and certainly no
later than two months after the closing date for applications. If you have not been invited for
interview within that time scale, we should like to thank you for the interest you have shown in
working for the University, but you should assume that on this occasion your application has
been unsuccessful. Applicants who are short-listed for interview will be sent details of time and
venue as soon as possible.
The University regrets that it is unable to give feedback to candidates who are not short-listed
for interview. For some posts we can receive more than one hundred applications and the
reason why an applicant is not short-listed is often because there were a large number of
applicants, rather than because of any deficiency in the individual’s application. Short-listed
applicants may seek feedback, although again the reason why candidates are unsuccessful is
rarely because of any failing on their part that may be dealt with by remedial action, but rather
that there was an outstanding individual amongst the excellent candidates invited for
interview.
As soon as reasonably practicable after the interviews have taken place the Personnel and Staff
Development Office will write to the successful applicant offering him/her the post. Upon
receipt of formal written acceptance of the post we will write to notify unsuccessful candidates.
Whilst we try to do this in as effective and efficient manner as possible, sometimes the process
can take rather longer than is ideal because of the need to recall candidates for a second
interview and reconvene interview panels and/or due to routine disruptions caused by leave
and other absences. We apologise for any delay and inconvenience caused in these
circumstances.
Should you have any queries regarding your application, please do not hesitate to contact the
Personnel & Staff Development Office (tel: 01904 434840).
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With the compliments of the Personnel & Staff Development Office
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