Job summary:

The Laboratory of Microfluidics and Complex Fluids at the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS, Warsaw (group leader: prof. Piotr Garstecki) is offering a postdoctoral position within the project �Microfluidic methods for quantitative antibiotic susceptibility assays with single cell resolution� funded by the National Science Center MAESTRO 10 Project No. 2018/30/A/ST4/00036.

The objective of the project is to develop an analytical platform to encapsulate bacterial cells into droplets using microfluidics, incubate them and detect growth without optical labeling. In the envisioned protocol, the sample culture of cells will be serially diluted and each dilution split and mixed with multiple concentrations of antibiotic to screen inoculum density and antibiotic concentration with digital droplet assays. The assays at high and low inoculum density will allow us to count the fraction of populated droplets that produced dense colonies of bacteria. These counts will allow us to measure the single-cell Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (scMIC) level and the inoculum effect (IE) while the low-density screens will uncover the phenotypic heteroresistance, p(scMIC). The method will offer a wealth of information for research on the response of cells and bacterial colonies to antibiotics, and hopefully will guide more effective treatments regimens.

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral candidate with strong background in biological sciences (microbiology, bioengineering, biochemistry, or similar) with focus on bacterium-antibiotic interactions and possibly with experience with droplet microfluidics.

The successful candidate will join a multinational and interdisciplinary team of scientist and will be responsible for i) developing droplet microfluidic systems for microbial testing of antibiotics in high-throughput and point-of-care (POC) formats and ii) investigating the microbiological factors associated with the development of phenotypic heteroresistance.

Responsibilities:

�� Design, construction and test droplet-based microfluidic systems for single-cell encapsulation and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST)
�� Microbial cell culturing
�� Monitoring the growth of a large number of single bacterial cells isolated in nanoliter droplets.
�� Determination of the heterogeneity of phenotypic response of individual cells in population
�� Data analysis, writing reports and scientific publications
�� Cooperation with researchers, including communication with English-speaking colleagues
�� Support and mentoring of PhD students

Requirements:

�� PhD degree in biological sciences (biotechnology, bioengineering, biochemistry) chemistry, physics or related fields
�� Experience with cell culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing is a must
�� Experience with standard bio-lab techniques (ELISA, Western blotting, qPRC, DNA isolation and sequencing, etc.)
�� Experience with confocal microscopy
�� Experience with microfluidic systems (design and fabrication) and their applications in microbiology is an advantage.
�� Experience in mentoring students is an advantage

What we offer:

�� 48-month full time work contract (12-month probationary period) in a well-equipped and modern laboratory (including a class 1000 cleanroom facility)
�� Gross salary of ca. 8300 PLN per month financed by the NCN MAESTRO 10 Project No. 2018/30/A/ST4/00036, 36 days of vacation, social security, health insurance
�� Work in the outstanding scientific institution in the dynamic research group with members representing diverse interests and qualifications � see details on the website: http://ichf.pong.pl/en
�� Participation in international conferences and Erasmus projects
�� Engagement into an ambitious research program and possibility to build the academic career

Eligibility criteria:

�� PhD obtained no earlier than 7 years before the year of engagement in the project
�� Enthusiasm, dedication and creativity measured by the quality and number of peer-reviewed publications and documented projects realized by the Candidate
�� Mobility documented by fellowships, research internships (especially in foreign research institutions)
�� Number of citations to the publications of the Candidate
�� Experience in research related to the project, especially in droplet microfluidics fluid mechanics and/or experimental microbiology.
�� Very good skills in spoken and written English
�� Outstanding motivation for research

Application Details:

�� How to Apply: Send an application (with the documents listed below) directly to rekrutacjaichf.edu.pl with email title �ICHF 067-2019�
�� Application Deadline: October 25, 2019, or as long as suitable candidate will be found
�� Envisaged Job Starting Date: 1st of November 2019 or as soon as possible
�� Required Languages: English, Language level: very good

Complete application should include the following documents:
�� scientific curriculum vitae, including a list of scientific achievements (scholarships, publications, patents, conference presentations, etc.).
�� motivation letter
�� recommendation letter
�� citation report (e.g. from Web of Science) including the number of publication, number of citation without self-citation, h-index of the Candidate
�� a scan of the PhD diploma
�� a scan of the Msc diploma

�� For more information contact: microfluidicsichf.edu.pl or lderzsiichf.edu.pl

The competition will be held in line with the competition documentation of the National Science Center (NSC) for the Maestro 10 project, including Attachment 4 of the 48/18 Act of the National Science Center dated 07.06.2018. According to the competition provisions in order to be eligible a candidate should obtain the academic degree of PhD no earlier than 7 years before the year of engagement in the project (please refer to the competition documentation for the exemptions from this rule).

Recruitment procedure:

�� The Commission will take into account the following criteria:
- competences of candidates for specific tasks in a research project,
- previous scientific achievements of candidates,
- awards and distinctions of the candidate resulting from the conducted research.
�� The Commission evaluates applications on a point scale. In the first stage the submitted documents will be evaluated (50% of total points). Top candidates will be invited of interview (possible also via Skype). Interview will be evaluated (50% of total scores).
�� The position will be awarded to the Candidate who obtains the highest number of points.
�� The results of the competition are made public.
�� The competition can be cancelled without a notice.


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