hiring

Current Funded Positions

Postdoc or Research Engineer: Physics of bacterial biofilm nucleation

We are looking for a Postdoc or Engineer with experience and/or a passion for digital holographic microscopy (DHM) and light sheet fluorescence microscopy.  The project will build a microscope, from scratch, which combines the two modalities in order to i) track bacteria in 3D over large fields of view and with high spatial and time resolution, and ii) observe the swimming to surface-adhered transition that nucleates a biofilm and interogate surface-induced intracellular changes via fluorescent biomarkers.  The ideal candidate may have a background in optics and/or in methods of numerical reconstruction.  Experience in machine learning and programming GPUs would be a plus.  Experience working with bacteria is not necessary, but welcome! To apply, or for more details, email Ashley.

Master Internship: Evaporation and Survival of Bacteria-Laden Droplets: The Role of Alginate 

The transmission and persistence of bacterial pathogens in aerosols and on surfaces are cru cial factors in infection spread. During coughing or sneezing, droplets containing bacteria or viruses are expelled and rapidly dry, exposing microorganisms to intense osmotic and desicca-

tion stresses. Despite this, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major opportunistic pathogen, shows remarkable survival in aerosols. This enhanced survival has been linked to the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), in particular alginate, a polysaccharide that modifies

the rheological properties of the surrounding fluid. However, the physical mechanisms underlying this protective effect remain poorly understood, especially at the scale of micrometer droplets that are representative of real respiratory aerosols. The goal of this internship is to investigate how alginate influences the drying dynamics and bacterial survival in micrometric droplets, both sessile (on surfaces) and airborne. The experimental workflow will consist in using a combination of droplet-on-demand technology and high speed holographic imaging to measure the drying kinetics of model sputum droplets containing bacteria and alginate under controlled humidity and temperature, and quantifying bacterial survival after drying. Experience with programming in Python is a plus.  Experience working with bacteria is not necessary.  The candidate must be curious and autonomous, with a motivation to work on interdisciplinary problems at the interface between soft matter physics, microbiology, and fluid dynamics.  To apply, or for more details, email Malo or Ashley.

Other

Interested in any aspect of our work?  Please get in touch to discuss the possibility of jointly applying for Masters, PhD, or postdoc funding.