Microbiology, Immunology, Drug Discovery and Antimicrobial Resistance

Applications are invited from motivated postdoctoral researchers interested in joining a research programme focused on antimicrobial resistance, infection biology, and the discovery of new therapeutic strategies against bacterial pathogens. Our laboratory investigates how multidrug-resistant bacteria cause disease, survive antimicrobial treatment, and adapt under host and drug pressure. A particular focus is on difficult-to-treat Gram-negative pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the development of novel antimicrobial approaches such as antibiotic adjuvants, prodrugs, peptide-based antimicrobials, and antibiotic–nutrient conjugates designed to overcome drug resistance mechanisms.

The successful candidate would contribute to projects at the interface of microbiology, immunology, infection biology, and translational drug discovery. Depending on background and interest, the project could involve bacterial pathogenesis, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, resistance mechanisms, host–pathogen interactions, immune responses to infection, biofilm biology, intracellular drug accumulation, or preclinical infection models.

Applicants should have, or be close to completing, a PhD in microbiology, immunology, infectious diseases, molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, drug discovery, or a related discipline.
Competitive candidates will have, a strong publication record relative to career stage
experience in bacterial infection biology, antimicrobial resistance, immunology, or drug discovery, strong experimental, analytical, and organisational skills, the ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative research environment, excellent written and oral communication skills, a clear interest in developing externally funded research projects, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, bacterial genetics, microscopy, flow cytometry, infection models, immune assays, omics approaches, or medicinal chemistry collaborations would be advantageous but is not essential.

Funding requirement
Please note that no salary funding is currently available for this position. Candidates must already hold, or be eligible and prepared to apply for, their own postdoctoral fellowship or salary support.
Applicants must make their funding situation clear in their initial inquiry. This should include whether they already hold fellowship funding, have submitted a fellowship application, or intend to apply for a specific external funding scheme.
The laboratory can provide support for strong candidates in developing fellowship applications, including project development, host support, and alignment with the laboratory’s research programme.

Specific opportunity for Germany-based applicants
Researchers from Germany may be particularly well suited to apply through the Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This programme supports postdoctoral and experienced researchers from Germany to undertake a research stay abroad for 6–24 months for postdocs, or 6–18 months for experienced researchers.
The fellowship is open to researchers from Germany with above-average qualifications, and applicants normally require a host statement, confirmation that research facilities are available, and expert reviews. The laboratory is willing to support suitable candidates with the host documentation and development of a competitive research proposal.

Research environment
The postdoctoral researcher would join an internationally connected antimicrobial resistance research programme with active collaborations in microbiology, chemistry, immunology, infection biology, and translational antimicrobial development. The position would provide opportunities to develop independent research directions, publish high-quality work, build international collaborations, and generate data for future fellowship and grant applications.

How to apply
Interested candidates should send an initial inquiry including a brief cover letter outlining research interests and fit with the laboratory, a current CV, including publications
a short statement describing current or planned fellowship funding, names of potential referees,
a brief summary of the type of project they would like to develop.

Only candidates with secured or realistic external fellowship funding pathways will be considered.