PhD Scholarship in Generative Protein and Peptide Design for Sustainable Biomaterials Technical University of Denmark in Denmark

Research focus: This PhD project develops generative computational methods for designing protein- and peptide-based biomaterials as sustainable alternatives to fluorinated PFAS polymers. The first application is solid-state battery components, where the project will target materials with adhesion, cohesion, ion conduction, and controlled degradability.

The researcher will combine molecular foundation models with iterative laboratory feedback to generate de novo protein and peptide designs. The work will adapt tools such as RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, and AlphaFold-type models, while extending design algorithms to handle natural and non-canonical amino acids and to plan their biosynthesis and biomanufacturing.

A central theme is the development of lab-in-the-loop methods. The researcher will create information-dense synthesis algorithms, generative model-controlled stochastic synthesis strategies, and integrated models that learn from diverse material-property measurements. Experimental data will be incorporated continuously with quantified uncertainty so that each design-build-test-learn cycle yields high-information training data.

The project also addresses expanded genetic codes, enabling non-canonical residues to be encoded and biosynthesised rather than only chemically synthesised. The researcher will work closely with experimentalists to automate and scale up design, synthesis, testing, and learning, and will contribute to shared latent representations for connecting molecular designs with material properties.

The position is part of BRIGHT Mission 1A, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition's programme on novel biomanufacturing-enabled materials. The broader research environment spans AI-guided protein and peptide design, microbial engineering, non-canonical amino-acid biosynthesis, cell-free prototyping, fermentation, purification, materials processing, analytical quality control, and structure-function characterization. The programme connects molecular design to scalable biomanufacturing and material testing, with emphasis on sustainability and industrial translation.

Based at the Technical University of Denmark, BRIGHT brings together academic and industrial partners working on sustainable materials and other biosolutions. The PhD researcher will collaborate within the research group and international networks, publish in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, engage in public dissemination, and teach or supervise MSc and BSc students and research assistants.