Staff Scientist in Bacterial Cell Wall homeostasis and plasticity

Umeå University, Faculty Office of Medicine

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The Faculty of Medicine, which consists of 12 departments, is responsible for biomedical research and courses in the field of nursing and health care and has an extensive research and graduate education in more than 80 subjects.

The Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University, seeks a staffscientist who will work with cell wall homeostasis and plasticity. The position is temporary for 4 months and available from 1 December 2024 or according to agreement. Application deadline is 28 October 2024.

Description of the project

The Cava lab at the Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the Department of Molecular Biology (Umeå University) studies cell wall biology and genetics in bacteria. The enzymes involved in the production and turnover of the cell wall are preferred targets for many of our most successful antibiotics. Understanding the principles of bacterial cell wall homeostasis and plasticity is therefore essential to combat emerging resistant infections. Thus, our main goal is to improve the inventory of players in cell wall biogenesis, remodeling and regulation, characterize the function and interplay of known components, and evolve our work into quantitative studies and computational modeling. Gathered data will have an extraordinary potential as novel targets for the development of antimicrobials.

Work responsibilities

You will focus on the following specific topics: 1) to develop new technologies of high through put ultra-sensitive analysis of bacterial cell wall; 2) to characterize the genetic determinants governing bacterial cell wall homeostasis at genome scale by analyzing the cell wall of arrayed mutant libraries; and 3) to identify the environmental factors modulating peptidoglycan plasticity and uncover its regulatory networks.

The staff scientist will be involved in large scale, high-throughput analysis of bacterial cell wall samples using LC-MS. The person will also be responsible for the optimization and development of new analytical methods, sample preparation and analysis, and day-to-day maintenance and troubleshooting of the instruments. The applicant will also apply molecular microbiology and genetics to discover novel cell wall regulatory partners.

Qualifications

We seek highly motivated candidates with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology or Microbiology at the time of recruitment. Since the project will be of collaborative nature, candidates are expected to function in a team and therefore have a good ability to co-operate. Excellent communication skills are required for interacting effectively with colleagues and peers.

You must to have previous experience in analytical chemistry, particularly in the development of chromatographic methods and sample preparation and analysis. A good knowledge of chromatography, mass spectrometry and associated software (e.g. Empower, UNIFI, MassLynx) is essential. It will be particularly qualifying for the successful candidate to have demonstrated expertise (at least 3 years) in comparative analysis of cell wall chromatographic and MS data, and generation and management of a cell wall database.

You must have a good working knowledge of standard molecular biology and biochemistry techniques (including DNA cloning, protein production and purification) and show proficiency in microbiology and basic microscopy methods.

Merit is given if the candidate has experience with bioinformatic related programs (e.g. Galaxy, Matlab, R) and the ability to develop computational scripts for data processing and analysis (e.g.: Python).

Application

The application must include:

1) CV and list of publications.
2) Three of your best publications.
3) Contact details of two to three references.

The application must be written in English or Swedish. The application must be made through our e-recruitment system Varbi. Documents sent electronically must be in Word or PDF format. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of this page. The closing date is 28 October 2024. For questions regarding the position, please contact the project supervisor: Felipe Cava, felipe.cava@umu.se

More about us

Learn more about our department at www.molbiol.umu.se

Welcome with your application!