Open position

Master Thesis

Master’s Thesis in Yeast Technology – How to determine yeast vitality?

Students from related fields are also welcome to apply.

Are you looking for a Master’s thesis that combines protein design, cell biology,
and direct industrial application? Do you want to work on a tool that makes the
metabolic state of yeast cells visible – quickly and without genetic modification?

Join NanoLab Graz (Department of Medical Chemistry,
Otto Loewi Research Center) at the Medical University of Graz.

We are looking for a motivated BSc, MSc or Diploma student
to become part of our interdisciplinary research team.

Project

Development and validation of a novel approach for determining yeast viability.

Background

Assessing yeast viability is essential in brewing, baking and biotechnology.
However, current methods are often imprecise, time-consuming or limited to
laboratory strains.

We are developing a new approach based on a recombinant protein that allows
viability assessment without genetic modification of the yeast. This makes the
method applicable to industrial and wild-type strains.

In this project you will

  • Clone, express and purify a recombinant protein
  • Functionally characterize the protein on living and dead yeast cells
  • Perform measurements using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy
  • Compare and validate the sensor against established viability assays

Interested?

Become part of our team and help develop a new tool for determining the
physiological state of yeast cells.

Contact

Dr.-Ing. Marco Eigenfeld
marco.eigenfeld@medunigraz.at