Post-Doctoral Fellow
We are also recruiting a post-doctoral fellow (to start around December 2018) with experience in one or more of the areas of microbial culturing, protein purification, subcellular fractionation and proteomics. The fellowship is funded through support from the office of the Vice Chancellor for Research on our interdisciplinary initiative to transform diatom biology through protein correlation profiling. This research brings together the post-doctoral fellow and a dream team of principal investigators (Kustka, Prof. Peter Lobel of CABM, and Prof. Greg Weber, Rutgers Newark Biology Department) to capitalize on expertise in diatom biology, protein correlation profiling, organelle metabolism, and cellular imaging. This work should revolutionize our understanding of protein targeting in this globally significant and technologically valuable group of photosynthetic microbes. Based on work with animals and yeast, many proteins possess a targeting sequence (or zip code) that dictates where the protein will reside within the cell after it’s made, but many other proteins seemingly disobey the “rules” as we understand them. As a result, our targeting predictions are highly inaccurate. This is exacerbated in diatoms for several reasons. We propose an empirical/computational method, based on benchtop biochemistry and high throughput quantitative proteomics, to begin to understand protein targeting. We are particularly excited to learn more about targeting to the silica deposition vesicle, a unique organelle found in only a few branches of the tree of life. Currently, one year of funding is secured, but efforts for continued funding may extend this position. Contact Prof. Kustka for more information.
Graduate Students
We are currently recruiting graduate students with an interest in investigating metal or carbon metabolism in marine phytoplankton with an interdisciplinary approach utilizing a combination of genome-enabled methods, classical culturing, physiological and biochemical methods, and radiotracer based techniques (as appropriate). The most important qualifications include the desire to learn, develop hypotheses and execute plans to test them. Prior experience with microbial cultures and working with protein is helpful but not required.