CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Engineering Insects to Detoxify Waste - [Archived Advertisement]

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD insect biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, or similar?
• Access to state-of-the-art technologies and bioinformatics techniques
• Join CSIRO – Australia’s leading scientific research organisation!

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

Invertebrates and insects in general have an amazing capacity to survive and even thrive on substances that are otherwise difficult to deal with. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to investigate the capability and capacity of insects to deal with challenging food sources using the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) as a model system.

The project on offer is transdisciplinary in nature and requires the application of knowledge and skills from several specialist scientific areas (microbiology, metabolic flux, multi-omics, bioinformatics, biochemistry). The CERC Fellow will work across multiple CSIRO laboratories, in addition to working at collaborator institutions (national and international). This will ensure you have access to state-of-the-art high throughput technologies and bioinformatics techniques in the field of systems biology and environmental omics

Your duties will include:

• Designing and carrying out experiments on black soldier fly to gauge their response to different diets.
• Multi-omic and phenotypic analysis of the performance of the black soldier fly on different waste streams.
• Laboratory based analysis of the biochemical response to specific diet and/or contaminants
• Genetic and biochemical investigation of the potential for modification of the black soldier fly to access difficult and novel waste streams.
• Working in close collaboration with emerging Australian black soldier fly industries as and when required.
• Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.

Location: Canberra, ACT or Brisbane, QLD
Salary: AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference: 86647

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as insect biology, biochemistry and/or physiology, Bioinformatics (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and/or proteomics), Systems Biology, or similar. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated bioinformatics experience in genomics, metabolomics- and/or proteomics-based research. Experience in transcriptomics and system biology will be advantageous. Professional (contracted consultancy work) and non-professional (academic) experience at a university will be considered.
• Excellent communication skills and an ability to interact socially and scientifically with other postdoctoral scientists and researchers in the laboratory and with collaborators in various networks are essential.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, regionally dispersed research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

To enter a CSIRO site, CSIRO will require you to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (or show a valid medical exemption from vaccination). If you are unable to meet this requirement, then you must return a negative result on a Rapid Antigen Test (within 48 hours prior to attending site) and wear a face mask whilst on the CSIRO site. These requirements apply if you are attending a CSIRO site as part of a recruitment process.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

26 October 2022, 11:00pm AEDT