Postdoctoral Fellow – Biocatalysis, Synthetic Chemistry and Technology Scale-Up

Start free →

Or apply yourself on the official page →

About the role

Location:  Gothenburg, Sweden |  Competitive Salary & Benefits Package   Do you have expertise in, and a passion for, biocatalysis and synthetic chemistry? Are you interested in developing greener, cleaner and more sustainable methods for the manufacture of complex small molecules? Would you like to combine enzyme engineering, organic chemistry and process development to advance biocatalytic technologies from laboratory experiments towards practical scale-up? If so, join AstraZeneca (AZ) and help unlock the potential of biocatalysis to deliver more efficient, sustainable and scalable chemical processes. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercialising prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. We are also dedicated to creating an environment where scientists can push the boundaries of science, collaborate across disciplines and translate innovative ideas into meaningful outcomes for patients. About the Opportunity This one-year postdoctoral position will focus on the development of biocatalytic chemistry and scalable reaction technologies for the synthesis and modification of small molecules. The project will investigate clean, atom-efficient approaches that combine hydrogen, hydrogenases and biocatalysts to enable selective reduction and oxidation chemistries and enable efficient cofactor regeneration. Emphasis will be placed on understanding reaction scope, improving catalyst performance and translating laboratory-scale reactions into robust, scalable processes. The successful candidate will develop expertise across synthetic organic chemistry, enzymatic catalysis, reaction optimisation, analytical chemistry and technology scale-up . The work will involve close interaction with scientists across AZ and external academic and industrial partners within the CirculH2 consortium, including TU Munich, TU Delft and ZHAW Basel. The project is funded through an EU Horizon Europe programme under the call HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01 , project number 101135542 , and is funded for one year. Project Focus The project aims to advance the use of hydrogen as a circular energy carrier in industrial biotechnology through the development of enzymatic reaction cascades. The research will focus on: • Developing hydrogenase-based systems for efficient and atom-economic cofactor regeneration using hydrogen. • Combining hydrogenases with various enzyme classes to enable selective reductions and oxidation of small molecule drug leads. • Optimising enzymatic reaction conditions, catalyst loading, substrate concentration and reaction productivity. • Improving the robustness, reproducibility and scalability of biocatalytic transformations. • Establishing practical workflows for reaction screening, process optimisation and scale-up. • Assessing the suitability of the resulting technologies for future application in pharmaceutical manufacturing. You will work collaboratively with interdisciplinary scientists from AZ and the CirculH2 consortium, under the scientific leadership of Professor Martin Hayes, Dr Guilia Bergonzini and Dr Alba Diaz-Rodriguez . You will also collaborate closely with external technology and biocatalysis specialists. What You’ll Do As an AZ Postdoctoral Fellow, you will lead an innovative research project at the interface of biocatalysis, synthetic chemistry and process development. You will design and execute experiments to develop enzymatic reactions, understand their underlying chemistry and advance promising transformations towards increased scale and practical application. Your work will include the development of enzyme cascades, reaction optimisation, analytical characterisation and scale

View the official posting →