PhD in Molecular Biology

The PhD candidate will study bacterial adhesins and their interactions with host receptors. The work centers on adhesins from Klebsiella and Enterobacter species, which are two of the ESKAPE pathogens notorious for their emerging multidrug resistance. In this project, you will help to identify bacterial adhesins in the genomes of ESKAPE strains and generate knockout mutants. Using infection assays, you will establish the importance of these adhesins in different stages of the infection process and identify host cell receptors. The work is in close collaboration with other groups in the network interested in host cell receptors, and in anti-adhesion drug development. The position thus offers the opportunity of internships with both academic and industrial partners. Methods will include the generation of mutants and other methods in molecular microbiology, protein expression and purification, and both cellular infection assays and biophysical adhesion assays. An integral part of the work is the identification of host cell receptors using mass spectrometry.