Full-Time Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship – Plant Sciences
Supervisors: Co-supervised by Dr. Michael Phillips (Dept of Biology, Univ of Toronto) and Mohammad Rahbari (Bioline Corporation)
Location of Fellowship: University of Toronto
Duration: Two-year Contract
Deadline for Application: October 14th, 2024
Start Date: Jan, 2025
Compensation: $70,000 CDN/year
The Opportunity:
BioLiNE® Corp. is a Canadian technology development company located in Lambton County, Ontario. Founded in 2016, and leveraging over-a-decade of research, our technology is advancing the development and adoption of innovative biostimulants as a necessity for profitable and sustainable crop production. We currently have several biostimulants being sold commercially that are a simple, effective, and affordable tool for helping growers improve yields, maximize inputs, and tolerate abiotic stress factors such as heat, drought, and poor soil conditions. Our technologies are marketed under various brands across Canada, the U.S. and E.U. Our research program is focused on improving our understanding of the modes of action by which biostimulants and biocontrol mixtures impact plants and the specific interaction they have with the plant and soil through the various stages of development.
Dr. Michael A. Phillips (Associate Professor, Dept of Biology)
Prof. Phillips directs a research lab at the University of Toronto (Mississauga) in the Department of Biology. His team focuses on plant metabolism using biochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. In particular, his research addresses the metabolism of terpenoids, key natural products in the resistance of plants to both biotic and abiotic stressors. He has over 50 peer reviewed publications, and his published works have garnered >4,000 citations (half of those from the last six years). He has delivered 15 invited talks, including 2 keynote addresses at prestigious meetings, and his lab currently consists of 11 students at the Master’s, PhD, and undergraduate level. The use of mass spectrometry is a central pillar in his research program, and his lab has published more than a dozen methodology papers describing the quantification of plant metabolites.
Position Overview:
The Industrial Post Doctoral Fellow will work out of The Phillips Lab at UTM Campus (Mississauga). The PDF researcher will undertake projects relating to the development of novel biostimulant and biocontrol mixtures. The projects will use a combination of biochemical assays, RNA-seq (transcriptomic analysis) and metabolomic techniques to study the interaction between the crop inputs and treated plants. The data generated by this collaboration will be used to develop new insights on modes of action that will impact Canadian agricultural productivity and food security. Chemical analysis techniques will also be used to study the molecular composition and structure of the biostimulant and biocontrol mixtures. The PDF fellow will work closely with BioLiNE’s internal research team on the project and will be connected with multiple labs outside of the University of Toronto that provide expertise, material resources, and analytical support to the research project. The PDF will help the BioLiNE research team generate research hypotheses that support the Company’s goals, design and plan experiments, and interpret the data using robust statistical approaches. The PDF is also expected to contribute to authorship of peer-reviewed publications, as well as white-papers, technical presentations at scientific meetings, and other communication tools used to help BioLiNE inform and communicate research findings to various audiences in academics and biological industry. This includes research results generated by other members of the team that may be beyond the direct experimental scope carried out by the PDF. It is expected that the PDF will attend conferences and make presentations on behalf of the company.
It is anticipated that there will be weekly virtual meetings between the BioLiNE team and the PDF, as well as monthly visits to BioLiNE labs, or visits from members of BioLiNE team tothe Phillips Lab for purpose of updates, planning, coordination of R&D efforts, and communication of results.
Applicant Qualifications:
- Completed a Ph.D. in Biology, Biotechnology, or Biochemistry or a closely related field within the past 2-years.
- Demonstrated research experience related to plant sciences.
- Highly proficient in English with superior communication skills are essential (written & public speaking).
- Effective in collaboration with other researchers and members of the team.
- Strong aptitude for conducting independent research.
- Motivated researcher capable of assuming leadership role, with self-learning ability.
- Creative problem-solver with passion and enthusiasm for innovation.
- Flexible and open-minded individual that can adapt to change quickly.
- Organized, self‐motivated individual with critical thinking and project management skills.
- Detailed individual with strong ability to absorb and retain information.
- Goal-orientated individual with a positive, can-do disposition.
Job Types: Full-time, Contract
Contract length: 24 months
Pay: $70,000.00 per year
Schedule:
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 2024-10-14
Expected start date: 2025-01-06