Project Title: Building Molecular-Level Understanding of Ubiquitin Ligase Function

Overview: We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled individual to join the VT Plant Synthetic Biology research group as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The successful candidate will be a key contributor to a project focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying ubiquitin ligase function, with a specific emphasis on plant hormone receptors and response pathways. This position offers a unique opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research at the intersection of molecular biology, biochemistry, and synthetic biology with agriculture and biotechnology.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop, execute, and publish research projects towards understanding and engineering chemically activated ubiquitin ligases. This work will build upon existing systems in the VT Plant Synthetic Biology lab for functional quantification of ubiquitin ligases in yeast and expand to using deep mutational scanning and directed evolution approaches. Additionally, the successful candidate will explore developing new systems for high throughput functional measurement of ubiquitin ligases that respond to jasmonate and other plant hormones.