We invite applications for a postdoctoral position to join an interdisciplinary research project on the single-cell biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The project will focus on studying the spatiotemporal dynamics of M. tuberculosisphenotypic variation, and its functional implications for stress adaptation and fitness. Relevant findings will be leveraged to develop new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.
Tuberculosis remains a major global-health threat, largely due to the capacity of M. tuberculosis to endure stressful conditions and evade host immunity and antimicrobials. Our main hypothesis is that phenotypic variation is key to the success of this pathogen. Using customized microfluidic platforms, live-cell microscopy, FACS, subpopulation omics, and various molecular and cell-based assays, the IMI team has made significant advances in understanding M. tuberculosis phenotypic diversification and its role in survival under drug stress and host-mimetic conditions. Additionally, we demonstrated that targeting phenotypic variation undermines the pathogen. We are now exploring this phenomenon at increasing environmental complexity.
We are seeking highly motivated candidates with a recent PhD in one of the following fields: molecular microbiology; bacteriology; cell biology of infection; immunology; biophysics.
The applicant should have one or more of the following kinds of expertise: genetics; host-pathogen interaction; microscopy; spectroscopy; single-cell analysis; flow cytometry; omics; bioinformatics; big-data analytics; microfluidics; drug and biomarker discovery.
Prior experience in mycobacteriology and BSL3 training would be a plus.
The applicant is expected to have excellent communication skills in both written and oral English; strong work ethics; very good organizational skills; ability to work both independently and as part of a team; and a rigorous scientific approach, with a proven ability to drive research forward.