Open positions
Open positions at the NCCR Microbiomes
If you are interested in working on one of the projects of the NCCR Microbiomes, please email us at contact@nccr-microbiomes.ch with a short description of your background and areas of interest.
Ph.D. position in Bacterial Metabolic Ecology
The Pacheco Lab in the Department of Fundamental Microbiology at the University of Lausanne offers a position as a Doctoral Student SNSF in bacterial metabolic ecology (experimental or interdisciplinary experimental/computational focus).
The Pacheco Lab has an open position to study the role of complex resource profiles in shaping microbial physiology and interactions.
In nature, microbes form complex communities whose functions are deeply intertwined with those of their host ecosystems. An ability to rationally modulate these communities can open numerous opportunities for microbiome-driven applications in host health and environmental sustainability. Previously, we have shown how an understanding of the resource use capabilities of individual microbes can contribute to accurate predictions of ecological interaction outcomes. However, we still lack a way to connect the ways in which microbes actually use and exchange these nutrients with their broader ecological roles in a community. Mapping these connections is crucial to understand and engineer microbial interactions in natural environments, which are characterized by complex and variable resource profiles.
Through this project, we seek to improve our understanding of how environmental bacteria preferentially utilize nutrients from complex resource pools, as well as how these patterns underlie inter-species interaction outcomes. This work will contribute to our fundamental understanding of bacterial metabolic strategies, informing future applications in synthetic ecology. To investigate these questions, the successful candidate will design, carry out, and interpret in vitro laboratory experiments incorporating bacterial cell culture and multi-omics data collection and analysis, with ample opportunities for incorporating additional methods and technologies. Candidates who have experience or interest in developing computational models to contextualize and generalize obtained experimental results are strongly encouraged to apply.
More information and applications through this link.
Ph.D. position in Bacterial Interaction Mapping
The Pacheco Lab in the Department of Fundamental Microbiology at the University of Lausanne offers a position as a Doctoral Student SNSF in bacterial interaction mapping (experimental or interdisciplinary experimental/computational focus).
The Pacheco Lab has an open position to study the role of complex environmental compositions in shaping microbial interactions and community ecology.
In nature, microbes form complex communities whose functions are deeply intertwined with those of their host ecosystems. An ability to rationally modulate these communities can open numerous opportunities for microbiome-driven applications in host health and environmental sustainability. Previously, we have shown how an understanding of the resource use capabilities of individual microbes can contribute to accurate predictions of ecological interaction outcomes. However, how an organism’s ability to utilize a given resource contributes to its role in interspecies interactions and community ecology remains difficult to define. Mapping these connections is crucial to understand and engineer microbial interactions in natural environments, which are characterized by complex and variable resource profiles.
Through this project, we seek to improve our understanding of how environmental resources shape bacterial interactions and ecological steady states, in order to engineer synthetic communities with desired functions. To investigate these questions, the successful candidate will design, carry out, and interpret in vitro laboratory experiments incorporating bacterial cell culture, automation, and multi-omics data collection and analysis, with ample opportunities for incorporating additional methods and technologies. Candidates who have experience or interest in developing computational models to contextualize and generalize obtained experimental results are strongly encouraged to apply.
More information and applications through this link.