Intensified biocatalytic processes for the preparation of halogenated tryptamine derivatives via flow biocatalysis
This Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – Doctoral Network (DN) project begins in January 2026, with the PhD recruitment and start planned for April 2026 (latest by December 2026). Upon successful completion of the research at both universities, a double PhD degree from UMIL and UdG will be awarded. As part of the program, training events and workshops organized by the DN – Joint Doctorates (JD) program will took place and candidates are expected to actively contribute to the dissemination of their research through public engagement and scientific platforms.
The main part of the four-year PhD journey will be conducted at the University of Milan (UMIL, Italy) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Martina Letizia Contente within the Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), Section of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences. The candidate you will also undertake a 12-month academic research stay at the University of Girona (UdG, Spain) under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Sílvia Osuna, as well as an industrial secondment at BAYER AG (Germany).
The PhD research will focus on:
(i) Interdisciplinary project on biocatalysis, chemistry, and process design
(ii) Identification of novel halogenases
(iii) Computationally guided rational modifications to enhance enzymatic performance (in collaboration with UdG).
(iv) Cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of selected enzymatic candidates
(v) Development of immobilized enzyme systems to enhance stability and reusability, supported by structural and morphological characterization using advanced microscopy
(vi) Development of flow-based processes for the synthesis of halogenated building blocks and complex cascade reactions to produce bioactive compounds at gram scale (in collaboration with Bayer)
(vii) Downstream processing for process automation
Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martina Letizia Contente (martina.contente@unimi.it)
Secondary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Silvia Osuna (silvia.osuna@udg.edu)
Recruiting institution: University of Milan (Milan, Italy)
Double degree awarding institution: University of Girona (Girona, Spain)
You can find more info here
and on the HALOVERSE web site.