CSIRO Industry PhD Scholarship: Elimination of flavours in precision fermentation

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

• Gain experience working with industry to solve real-world problems while you earn your PhD
• Develop transferable professional skills
• Get access to specialised expertise, equipment and training

The CSIRO Industry PhD Scholarship (iPhD) Program is an industry-focused, applied research scholarship and training program that brings together an industry partner, the university and CSIRO. 

You will undertake a co-designed research project that will develop your ability to translate research into commercial outcomes.  

You will get real-world experience and access to specialised expertise, equipment and training.

Our graduates develop transferable professional skills and are well positioned to work at the cutting edge of industry focussed research.  

Scholarship details 

The Program includes:

• admission to the university PhD program
• a four-year scholarship package of approx. $45,000 per annum

• a four-year Project Expense and Development package of up to $13,000 per annum
• an in-business component with an industry partner of at least 3 months
• professional development training to enhance your applied research skills
• supervision by CSIRO, the industry partner, and the university

Project Title:  Identification and elimination of flavours from substrates and microbial specialised metabolites in precision fermentation of future foods 

Project Description:   Precision fermentation technology is delivering new ways to produce food and food ingredients uncoupled from traditional agricultural inputs (soil, rain, sunlight) and offers the promise of food production with reduced environmental impact, including the production of animal-free milk, cream, and cheese. However, humans have evolved an exceptional capacity to identify flavours and use that information to make decisions about consumption. Existing and emerging substrates for precision fermentation contain compounds with the potential to impact the organoleptic properties of animal-free dairy products, as do specialised metabolites produced by bacteria, yeast, and fungi during fermentation.  

This project will develop the analytical tools to identify flavour compounds in precision fermentation substrates and products, identify existing, emerging, and novel technologies to remove these compounds, and engineer microbial strains to eliminate the production of secondary metabolites that impact the taste of animal-free dairy ingredients and products.    

Project supervisors:   

CSIRO
CSIRO supervisor:  Utpal Bose & James Broadbent
Business Unit: Agriculture & Food
Research program: Livestock and Aquaculture
Email address: utpal.bose@csiro.au & james.broadbent@csiro.au

University
University supervisor: Mark Harrison
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Email address: md.harrison@qut.edu.au
Faculty: Faculty of Science
School: Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

Industry
Company name: Change Foods Pty Ltd
Website: www.changefoods.com  

Location:     

•   Primary location of the student: Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
•   In-business component with Industry partner: Change Foods facility, Brisbane

Overview of who we are looking for 

The ideal student will have:

•   A passion for research and innovation and a strong drive to contribute to the future of food production.
•   Subject matter knowledge of either analytical chemistry or microbial biotechnology is essential.
•   A willingness to develop high-level subject matter knowledge and technical skills in both areas is essential.
•   The ideal student has exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, coupled with a good understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with strategic basic and applied research with Change Foods.  

It is also desirable that the student has subject matter knowledge of food science.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply you must:

•   be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen
•   meet host university PhD admission requirements
•   meet university English language requirements
•   not have previously completed a PhD
•   be able to commence the program in the year of the offer
•   enrol as a full-time PhD student

Applications will be assessed on:

Experience relevant to the field of research, including any research experience

Suitability for the project

Academic excellence

Motivation for undertaking an Industry PhD project

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. 

Further information about the CSIRO Industry PhD Program can be found at:  www.csiro.au/iphd   

How to Apply:

Applicants should apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to QUT’s Doctor of Philosophy.

For details on how to apply, please see the QUT website at QUT – Identification and elimination of flavours from substrates and microbial specialised metabolites in precision fermentation of future foods (PhD Scholarship)  

Applications close:   25 November 2022, 5:00pm AEDT