A Post-doc position is open within the team of Professor Karine Clément “NutriOmics”.
This post-doc will be carried out at the interface between biology and physics with the laboratory of Eric Clément, located at Sorbonne University.
Job title: Post doctoral position at the PMMH-ESPCI (M/F)
Working place : PARIS 05
Type of contract : Scientific CDD
CN Section: 10
Contract duration: 18 months, eventually extendable 24 months
Starting date : from 1/11/2013
Working hours : Full time
Salary : between 2696 and 3800 euros gross
Level of education required: PhD in Physical or in Biological Sciences
Desired experience: doctoral and/or post-doctoral experience in biophysics would be a plus.
This post-doctoral project is part of the ANR-supported PushPull project, which involves studies at the
interface between physics and biology/medicine.
The overall aim of the project is to investigate the transport the exploration and the organization
properties of model biological micro-swimmers, namely flagellate bacteria and ciliated algae in
complex environments. These two species present two different swimming strategies, which have a
direct impact on their exploration and organization properties in environments with complex rheology
or constraining geometries. A conceptual understanding of these swimming properties as well as the
different exploration characteristics will be evaluated, based on reliable and quantitative modeling.
In this context, the post-doc will work specifically on important medical and biological questions,
namely the penetration of intestinal mucus by flagellated bacteria, under different micro-
environmental biological conditions. The post-doctoral assignment will be carried out at the interface
between ESPCI's PMMH laboratory and the INSERM/Sorbonne Université "NutriOmics" laboratory
working in the field of metabolic diseases.
The PMMH laboratory has developed a 3D Lagrangian tracking system suited for various
microorganisms, as well as micro-fluidic techniques for creating controlled geometrical and rheological
environments. Using this original experimental system, the post-doctoral fellow will monitor and
model the swimming performance of flagellated bacterial in different mucosal environments obtained
either from purified mucin, or from extracts of native porcine mucus, modified by dilution or chemical
attack. The level of penetrability of the biological barrier will be quantified and put into perspective
with rheological measurements.
He/she will be responsible for conducting standardized experimental tests to measure bacterial
penetration as a probe of mucus "health" under different biological conditions (more or lessinflammatory, for example). He/she will be in charge of systematically analyzing the data produced
using appropriate statistical tests.
- Science thesis in physics/biophysics, with knowledge of chemistry or physical chemistry
- Statistical skills applied to complex data
- Prior knowledge of the Matlab software would be appreciated
- Include recommendation letters from PhD mentor and/or senior scientific collaborators
Scientific work at the interface between a physics research laboratory and a medical biology research
laboratory.