Post-doctoral position in optical imaging and/or microfluidics

We seek a talented post-doctoral researcher to contribute to the project “Transition from genetic to phenotypic antibiotic resistance in de novo bacterial mutants”.
The project will involve creating a microfluidic device suitable for live imaging of 109 bacterial cells, tracking antibiotic-resistant spontaneous mutants that evolve in the device, and measuring their growth rate over several generations. This will be complemented with DNA sequencing and in situ visualisation of mutations using a CRISPR/Cas9-based technique developed by another post-doc.
Other team members will use mathematical modelling to interpret the data and predict the effect of the genotype-to phenotype transition on the dynamics of bacterial infections.

Essential skills:
• PhD in physics, biology or physical chemistry, held or to be obtained before the job start date.
• Experience in at least one of the following: optical imaging (wide-field or confocal microscopy), microfluidics, image analysis (ImageJ, Python, or Matlab).
• Very good academic achievements as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications and talks/poster presentations at international conferences.
• Ability to draft (in English) scientific papers for academic journals.
• Ability to communicate (in English) complex information clearly, orally and in writing.
• Ability to think creatively, propose and develop new ideas.
• Capability of working without close supervision, exercising a high degree of initiative and demonstrating a pro-active approach to work.

Desirable skills:
• Experience with Micromanager (software for controlling microscopes)
• Experience in cross-disciplinary and / or collaborative research projects.
• Ability to work hard and organise work so as to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to maintain a clean and well-organised laboratory environment and to set up and maintain a well-organised digital repository of experimental data and protocols.
• Potential for career advancement as an independent researcher.
Candidates who possess these additional skills will be prioritized.

The successful candidate will benefit from working in an international, interdisciplinary research group, and a newly refurbished, modern lab and office space. The candidate will work closely with other experimentalists and modellers from the Dioscuri Centre. The candidate will have the opportunity to visit other research groups in Europe and to participate in international workshops and conferences.

The position is initially for 1 year, after which it may be extended for another 2 years (maximum total duration 3 years) subject to satisfactory performance.