Postdoctoral Research Fellow

**Job no**:0056751
**Location**:Parkville
**Role type**:Full time/Part time; Fixed-term for up to three years, with possible extension
**Faculty**:Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
**Department/School**:School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
**Salary**:Level A - $83,468- $113,262 p.a. (PhD entry Level A.6 - $105,518 p.a.) plus 17% super
- Lead digital innovation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing through advanced research and industry collaboration.
- Transform Australian Biopharma manufacturing with cutting-edge digital bioprocessing solutions and international collaboration.
- Salary packaging, subsidised health and wellbeing services, fitness and cultural clubs, Myki discounts, and a 25% discount on graduate courses to our staff and their immediate families

**About the Role**

The ARC Hub for Digital Bioprocess Development is a collaborative program of significant scope and scale. It draws together expertise from The University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney and RMIT University, together with CSL Innovation, Patheon and Cytiva and three leading international universities, forming a substantial team. The Hub will have the critical mass of researchers and expertise needed to address key biopharma research challenges, contributing to industry outcomes and positioning Australian Biopharma manufacturing to benefit from Industry 4.0.

**Chief Investigator Professor Sally Gras**
The Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Process Modelling is part of the ARC Digital Bioprocess Development Hub Research Program. This position will model process performance using mechanistic models for cell culture coupled with the emerging techniques of machine learning and data-driven computational modelling. The project will consider the effect of process intensification; it will consider fluid flow and heat and mass transfer, as well kinetic models, integrated with data driven approaches to build new bioreactor models. A range of computational fluid dynamics and other simulation tools may be employed.

The project aims to understand, predict and optimize bioreactor performance and improve bioreactor control to produce therapeutic proteins, including via the use of process analytical technologies. It will use experimental validation to provide insights into processing and process scaling to accelerate process development and scale up.

New models will be developed for fed-batch processes using existing historical data, as well as new experiments for validation. The potential of real-time analytics and predictive modelling to improve process control and cell growth will be examined. The insights obtained will be used to develop an innovative approach to real-time platform control.

The position is based in an established group within the Department of Chemical Engineering and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute and will involve research across The University site and partner organisation CSL Innovation. The project team involves several PhD students and research assistants; the team also collaborates closely with other project teams within the Digital Bioprocess Development Hub providing excellent opportunity to publish research, whilst also having an impact on the sector.

Your responsibilities will include:

- Independently planning and carrying out research on the research project and working towards completion of the aims of the project. This will include both mathematical modelling work, and some experimental work e.g. to assess the usefulness of process analytical technologies. With training you will also undertake data driven computational work.
- Developing effective timelines and milestones based on goals of the research program.
- Liaising effectively with collaborators and a variety of internal and external stakeholders to foster collaborative partnerships and working with teams to achieve joint outputs and outcomes.
- Preparing and publishing research outcomes in conferences and journals and other scholarly outputs to a high academic standard in accordance with the research expectations of the University of Melbourne.
- Contributing to the research group and assisting in co-supervision of PhD and masters project students.

**Who We Are Looking For**
You will be able to demonstrate a capacity to communicate research concepts to technical and non-technical audiences. You will show excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to interact with internal and external stakeholders (academic, administrative and support staff) in a courteous and effective manner. You will also have the ability to develop, administer and see through to completion appropriately designed research projects with limited supervision.

You will also have:

- A postgraduate research degree at PhD level (or near completion) or Higher Education qualification in a field relevant to the position described above. Specifically, in chemical or biochemical engineering, mathematical process modelling or b