Research Associate in Control of Synthetically Engineered Multicellula

A Research Assistant position is available to undertake research into the control of synthetically engineered multicellular microbial consortia. This position is available immediately and, in the first instance, until the end of June 2019.

The project will be carried out at the School of Biochemistry and at the Department of Engineering Mathematics as part of the Bristol Centre for Synthetic Biology (see below for further details). The objective of the project is to develop and demonstrate the integrated approach proposed in [ACS Synthetic Biology, 2017, 6(3), pp. 507-517] by the research team at Bristol to achieve real-time feedback control of populations of living cells, and in particular to carry out feedback control of multicellular consortia where one cell population monitors and controls some phenotype of the other. The design will be implemented in vivo using microfluidic devices and engineered constructs.

The work-plan requires a high level of integration between wet-lab and in-silico experiments, under the overall supervision of Prof. Mario di Bernardo (Engineering Maths) and Prof. Nigel Savery (Biochemistry), together with Prof. Claire Grierson (Biological Sciences) and Dr. Lucia Marucci (Engineering Maths).This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a challenging project joining a highly interdisciplinary team of mathematicians, engineers, biologists and biochemists whose recent track records include successful circuit design, circuit construction and microfluidics experiments.

The successful applicant should have an excellent background in molecular biology and previous experience working with E.coli. They will have a demonstrable interest in synthetic biology, ideally including practical experience in this field. They should be committed to applying their research to implement control strategies for synthetically engineered cell populations. Applicants will possess a relevant PhD and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of molecular biology, synthetic biology and mathematical modelling to work on the project. They will be able to integrate experimental work with computational methods for data analysis. Previous experience with microfluidics based experiments is highly desirable, but training will be provided by other team members as required.

This post is offered on a full time, open ended contract with funding up to June 2019.

It is anticipated that interviews will take place shortly after the closing date.

Informal enquiries can be made to: Professor Mario Di Bernardo .

The University is committed to creating and sustaining a fully inclusive culture. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities.