Identification and elimination of flavours from substrates and microbial specialised metabolites in precision fermentation of future foods (PhD scholarship)

Application dates

Applications close

25 November 2022

What you’ll receive

The CSIRO Industry PhD Program (iPhD) is a four-year research training program that focuses on applied research and working with the industry sector. It aims to produce the next generation of innovation leaders with the skills to work at the interface of research and industry in Australia.

You will receive:

• a scholarship package totalling about $45,000 per annum for four years, including a full RTP Fee offset
• a structured professional development and training program
• a project expense and development package of $13,000 per annum over four years
• an in-business industry engagement component
• supervision by CSIRO, an industry partner and QUT.

A funding agreement between CSIRO and QUT is currently being negotiated to govern this proposed scholarship.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this opportunity, you must:

• be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen
• meet QUT’s PhD admission requirements , including any English language requirements
• not have previously completed a PhD
• be able to commence in the program in 2023
• enrol as a full-time PhD student
• be prepared to be located at the project location(s) that QUT has approved and, if required, comply with QUT’s external enrolment procedures.

Ideally, you should have:

• a passion for research and innovation and a strong drive to contribute to the future of food production
• essential subject matter knowledge of either analytical chemistry or microbial biotechnology
• a willingness to develop high-level subject matter knowledge and technical skills in both areas
• 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
• subject matter knowledge of food science is desirable.

How to apply

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

The first step is to contact Associate Professor Mark Harrison detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV as well as a a 1-2 page research proposal covering your proposed approach to the research.

If supported to apply, you will then submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) following the advice on how to apply for a research degree.

In your EOI, nominate A/Prof Mark Harrison as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship web page into question 2 of the financial details section.

The EOI will then be reviewed and the applicant interviewed by the supervisory team, with the successful applicant then invited to submit their full application.

For any questions about QUT’s application process, contact hdr@qut.edu.au

For any questions about the research project, contact A/Prof Mark Harrison

For any questions about the CSIRO scholarship project, contact the IPhD Team.

Conditions

You are subject to the policies, procedures, and guidelines of QUT in addition to the CSIRO Industry PhD Program terms and conditions. You will receive a standard PhD on completion.

The availability of this scholarship is subject to QUT and CSIRO signing a funding agreement.

About the scholarship

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.

This project is a collaboration between QUT, Change Foods Pty Ltd and the CSIRO Industry PhD scholarship program .