University of Maryland Baltimore, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

6358 32763
Position ID:
UMB-PCCSM-PROTEINENGINEERING [#32763]
Position Title: 
Postdoctoral Fellow: Protein Engineering
Position Type:
Postdoctoral
Position Location:
Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States of America
Subject Areas: 
Biochemistry
Chemical Biology
Molecular Biology
Appl Deadline:
none (posted 2026/09/18)
Position Description:
   

Position Description

Postdoctoral Fellow: Protein Engineering

The Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Medicine is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to engineer proteins with novel or improved functions using directed evolution and rational design, and to develop high-throughput selection and screening platforms that support an iterative design-build-test cycle across our protein engineering, synthetic biology, and molecular imaging programs.

Key Responsibilities

Design and construct combinatorial, site-saturation, and rationally designed variant libraries.

Develop and execute high-throughput selection and screening strategies, including growth-coupled selections and FACS-based screens.

Express, purify, and biophysically characterize engineered proteins, including binding, stability, and specificity measurements.

Integrate validated variants into cellular and in vivo systems and confirm function in a biological context.

Generate high-throughput sequencing datasets from selection campaigns and work with computational colleagues to implement and test their designs.

Contribute protein biochemistry expertise across the lab’s broader research program as needed.

Present findings at internal meetings and scientific conferences and prepare manuscripts for highimpact journals.

Mentor junior researchers and contribute to a collaborative lab environment.

Qualifications

PhD in Biochemistry, Protein Engineering, Molecular Biology, Chemical Biology, or a related field.

Strong hands-on experience in protein engineering, including library construction, directed evolution or high-throughput selection, and protein expression and purification.

Proficiency in molecular biology techniques, including cloning and synthetic construct design, PCRbased mutagenesis, and next-generation sequencing library preparation.

Experience with biophysical characterization methods for protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions.

Experience with deep mutational scanning or display technologies (phage, yeast, or bacterial surface display) is desirable.

Experience with membrane protein expression, structural biology, or bacterial genome engineering is a plus.

Ability to work independently and within a collaborative team; strong communication and writing skills.

Application: Interested candidates should send their CV, a cover letter outlining their research experience, interest in this position and contact information for three references to Dr. Nalinikanth Kotagiri at NKotagiri@som.umaryland.edu

Desired start date: Immediately

We are not accepting applications for this job through AcademicJobsOnline.Org right now. Please see the job description above on how to apply.
Contact: Nalinikanth Kotagiri
Email: email address
Postal Mail:
4 Martin Luther King Junior Blvd, 4120D
Baltimore, MD 21201
https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/medicine/divisions/division-of-pulmonary-critical-care--sleep-medicine/