Scientist, Cell-Based Screening - Plant Biology Institute

Join us at EIT:

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org.

Welcome to the Plant Biology Institute:

The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.

The Plant Biology Institute will unite world-class researchers who are focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is focused on enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting-edge plant science research within an organisation that is focused on solving global challenges at scale, we aim to accelerate the timeline from discovery to global impact.

Areas of exploration include:

• Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside.
• Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.
• Novel decarbonised plant-based production platforms for food and medicines.
• Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants.

Researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratory and plant growth facilities and have opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation, and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long-term substantial funding to support the unique scale and ambition of its vision.

Your Role:

EIT is seeking a highly motivated and skilledScientist or Senior Scientist in Plant Cell Screening and Photosynthesis Engineering to join its pioneering Plant Biology Institute.

The successful candidate will lead the development of an innovative plant cell-based screening platform for evaluating carbon fixation. Once established, the platform will be used to identify improved variants of photosynthesis enzymes and assess engineered metabolic pathways designed to enhance photosynthesis. The most promising enzyme variants and pathway designs will be advanced into whole plants to support the development of high-performance crop varieties with enhanced photosynthetic capacity.

The scientist will be expected to contribute to IP generation and play an active role in translating research into real-world and commercial solutions aligned with EIT’s mission of humane technological advancement. This role offers a unique opportunity to conduct high-impact research at the forefront of plant science while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to drive innovation from lab to global impact.

Your Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of a plant cell–based screening platform to assess carbon fixation and other physiological responses in suspension cultures
• Develop and apply quantitative methods to measure carbon fixation rates in plant cell suspensions
• Use the plant cell-based screening platform to Identify improved variants of photosynthesis enzymes
• Use the plant cell-based screening platform to assess engineered metabolic pathways designed to enhance photosynthesis
• Lead genetic engineering experiments in plant cell cultures, including targeted gene knockouts, gene insertions, and CRISPR-based genome editing
• Apply iterative design–build–test–learn cycles to develop and refine engineering strategies
• Advance promising enzyme variants and pathway designs into whole plants for functional validation
• Drive rigorous experimental design, execution, and data interpretations, ensuring robust and reproducible scientific outcomes.
• Deliver research progress through stage gated milestones.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to incorporate cutting edge research techniques into experiments.
• Present scientific work at seminars within EIT and at external meetings, including contributing to discussions on developments within the field.
• Assist in mentoring other members of the research group where appropriate.
• Assist in the translation of scientific results into commercial opportunities consistent with the EIT humane endeavours.
• Recognise and act on opportunities for the creation of IP and cooperating in patent protection and in impact delivery.
• Conduct research ethically, in compliance with EIT policy, regulatory guidance, and best scientific practice.