Research Associate – Molecular Biology and Plant Science

Innovation project

The internship is part of Kyomei's ongoing innovation project to build a scalable protein production and extraction platform for food ingredients. We use plant biotechnology to transform leaves into bio-factories for healthier food ingredients for better-for-you foods. Our molecular farming platform expresses valuable proteins in crop leaves, and our downstream platform extracts those proteins - along with the Rubisco leaf proteins naturally present in the leaves as a sidestream - and purifies them into usable ingredient forms for formulation into food products. The internship will specifically relate to R&D for our molecular farming platform, engineering crops for variable protein production and validation

Company overview

Kyomei (https://kyomei.co.uk/) was founded in late 2021 on the premise of unlocking the full potential of plants to achieve our vision of a more nutritious, sustainable, and equitable food system. Instead of the traditional "one seed, one product" model, we work closely with farming communities to maximize the value of their leafy biomass that is otherwise wasted, enabling a "one seed, multiple products" future.

Since our co-founders Meir Wachs (CEO) and Dr. Kyoko Morimoto (Chief Scientific Officer) first met at Oxford, we have grown to 11 full-time employees. Kyoko holds a PhD in biochemistry and has 15+ years of academic and industrial R&D experience at Oxford's Plant Science Labs and Syngenta, and she leads Kyomei's R&D efforts. Technical leads for our downstream and upstream technology platforms are also skilled PhDs from Oxford and Cambridge. On the business side, Meir is a serial entrepreneur with experience building and exiting successful businesses and Suzanne Robinson (Chief Commercial Officer) has 25+ years of experience in food and ingredient innovation at Nestle and Accenture. We have a close-knit team that works on-site at our facility and labs in Soham in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Position overview

Kyomei is seeking a Research Associate (Plant Lab) to join our innovative team to strengthen our transformation pipeline. You will be working at the bench and collaborating closely with team members. You will contribute toward the plant transformation pipeline, plant analysis pipeline as well as plant processing to support our trait development.

While your initial focus will be supporting our plant transformation and tissue culture programmes, you will also contribute to molecular biology, protein characterisation and other research activities as our projects evolve. This role offers an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys hands-on laboratory work, thrives in a collaborative environment and is eager to develop across multiple areas of biotechnology. We are keen to find an individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced start-up environment and who is motivated to help shape and evolve our ways of working.

This hands-on role requires a candidate who is eligible and able to work onsite at our facility in Soham (Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom).

Key responsibilities will include

• Support plant tissue culture, regeneration and transformation workflows.
• Prepare sterile media, buffers, reagents and laboratory consumables.
• Perform molecular biology techniques including DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, cloning and construct verification.
• Assist with plant phenotyping, sample collection and molecular analysis.
• Support downstream analytical workflows where required.
• Plan and execute experiments in collaboration with the scientific team.
• Analyse experimental results, troubleshoot technical challenges and propose improvements.
• Maintain accurate laboratory notebooks and electronic laboratory records.
• Contribute to protocol development, optimisation and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Ensure laboratory equipment is maintained and calibrated appropriately.
• Follow laboratory health, safety and biosafety procedures at all times.
• Collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary R&D projects and contribute to the wider research objectives of the company.
• Support additional laboratory activities and research programmes as business priorities evolve.

Key outcomes

By the end of the internship, the candidate will:

• Develop and validate internal regeneration/transformation/characterisation protocols and testing frameworks.
• Acquire practical experience in experimental design and execution within a high-growth startup environment.

Type of stream: Deep-Tech Talents (research focused internship)

Required Qualifications

• Right to work in the United Kingdom
• BSc or MSc (completed or ongoing) in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Plant Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry or a related life science discipline.
• Minimum one year of practical wet laboratory experience (academic or industrial).
• Good understanding of sterile technique and laboratory best practice.
• Experience with one or more of the following:
  • plant tissue culture
  • molecular biology
  • DNA/RNA extraction
  • PCR/qPCR
  • cloning
  • gel electrophoresis
  • protein expression or protein analysis

Required Soft Skills

• Ability to multi-task, learn quickly and adapt to changes within a fast-paced work environment.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to follow SOPs while working accurately and independently.
• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to learn new techniques.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.

Preferred experience

• Experience working in a commercial tissue culture lab or clean lab.
• Knowledge of molecular biology, plant transformation vectors and techniques.
• Experience recording data into electronic lab journals.

• Internship Duration: 3-6 months, to be defined with the candidate.
• Benefits: Opportunity to work in a cutting-edge, high-growth biotech startup with mentorship from elite (Oxford/Cambridge-trained) scientists and seasoned commercial and product innovation leaders.
• Location: Internship will be onsite at our facilities in Soham (Cambridgeshire, UK), so candidate must have the legal right to work in the UK as visa support will not be possible.