Marie Curie Early Stage Researchers

Department of Chemistry / Chemical Biology Section, South Kensington Campus

Salary: £35,352 - £42,857 per annum (The salary range is approximate and may vary significantly depending upon the exchange rate. The salary will be at a fixed rate for the duration of the contract)

Fixed Term: 36 months, starting 1st October 2014.

Imperial College London is recruiting 13 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to join the Marie Curie Innovative Doctoral Programme (IDP) “NexGenAgriChem”. The IDP will provide a dynamic multidisciplinary training culminating in a PhD, awarded by Imperial College London.

The main focus of NexGenAgriChem is to transform the landscape of rational agrochemical design by offering a unique multidisciplinary PhD training programme for physical scientists (e.g. Chemists, Physicists, Mathematicians, Chemical Engineers etc.), which will stimulate the development of novel tools and technologies able to address challenges that lie at the interface between the agri-sciences and physical sciences.

Each Early Stage Researcher will be co-supervised by research scientists from Syngenta, a world-leading agrochemical company, and physical scientists from Imperial College London; thus providing an intersectoral, multidisciplinary student experience.

The 13 Early Stage Researchers will focus upon the development of molecular Chemical tools and technologies that probe (i) the Delivery (e.g. agrochemical uptake and distribution profiles within the cell, controlled by translocation efficiencies of agrochemicals through cell walls and membranes en route to the target protein) and (ii) the Destiny (e.g. an agrochemical’s mode of action, stability, non-specific binding and species specificity). These tools and technologies cover the full spectrum of physical sciences innovation, from new imaging techniques through to atomistic simulations, novel theoretical models, synthetic chemistry, microfluidics and novel spectroscopic methods. The suite of projects will make step changes to the efficiency of the agrochemical pipeline, and will thus support the downstream development of novel and durable strategies for defence mechanisms and yield increases in plants.

A crucial feature of the programme will be the close interaction our industry partners, including internship opportunities with our partner Syngenta.

For further information on this Marie Curie IDP, eligibility criteria and details about the research projects, please go to our website:  http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/nexgenagrichem.

Should you have any queries please contact: Dr Anna Radomska-Botelho Moniz (a.radomska@imperial.ac.uk).

Our preferred method of application is online via our website: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment (please select “job search” then  enter the job title or vacancy reference number into “keywords” ­ vacancy

ref: NS2014016AS).  Please complete and upload an application form as directed.

Closing Date: 28 February 2014 (Midnight GMT)