The successful candidate will work as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the ASPIRE Research Institute for Food Security in the Drylands. This institute features a comprehensive and highly interdisciplinary R&D program and provides an international collaboration platform for researchers and stakeholders of the public and private food and agricultural sector. It strives to generate knowledge and technological innovation in support of food security in the UAE and other arid environments of the world.
As part of one of its research themes, the institute is aiming at developing advanced technologies for the recycling of organic waste materials into growth substrates for edible mushrooms.
To support this research, we are seeking to hire an ambitious young researcher.
The research involves isolation and characterization of different promising fungal strains for biological waste management. The study involves the site-specific characterization of lignocellulose waste, environmental interactions, and hypogeous Ascomycete genera generally found in the arid environments. The successful candidate will conduct organized research under laboratory conditions to develop mycelia under in vitro culture conditions, by standardizing media compositions. The work will involve the application of mycelium under specific conditions on to the targeted bio-substrates for culturing in vivo and studying the efficiency of composting by the fungi. A molecular screening using PCR marker assisted techniques should be used to identify and confirm the strains isolated from UAE sites. Several other standardizations involving screening of different nutrient compositions and inoculum mass to improve mycelial growth will also be performed. The culture conditions like pH, carbon and nitrogen sources and the synergistic conditions will be assayed to assess the production of mycelial biomass. Some of the enzymes involved in the lignocellulose degradation will also be assayed as a marker for the efficiency of the fungi. The results have to be justified by utilizing appropriate statistical methods and interpretations with recent literature.
The position is for nine months with the possibility of extension on an annual basis.

Minimum Qualification
A Ph. D. degree in horticulture, agriculture, biology, or a related discipline.

Preferred Qualification
A Ph. D. degree in horticulture, agriculture, biology, or a related discipline, plus proven working experience in the concerned field.