Postdoctoral position on archaea-bacteria interactions and cooperation Full-time

Postdoctoral Position On Archaea-Bacteria Interactions And Cooperation

We invite applications for a 24-month postdoctoral scientist position to join our team within the project ReFuel: Harnessing archaeal processes to capture carbon dioxide into alkanes as renewable fuels and energy storage agents. The position will begin on 1 August 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Hydrocarbon-oxidizing archaea form obligate syntrophic partnerships with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), enabling the anaerobic turnover of hydrocarbons in marine sediments. Despite their global importance, the mechanistic basis of this metabolic coupling remains unresolved: whether electron transfer proceeds via diffusible intermediates or through direct, cell-to-cell electron transfer (DIET) is still under active debate. This project aims to resolve the mechanism of archaeal-bacterial electron transfer in these systems. By combining cultivation-based microbiology with electrochemical approaches and high-resolution imaging, the work will directly probe how energy metabolism is physically and functionally coupled across domains of life. The project will involve working with syntrophic deep-sea consortia, performing strictly anoxic physiological experiments, and developing electrode-based systems to probe extracellular electron transfer. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with unique enrichment cultures and contribute to a mechanistic framework for one of the central processes in anaerobic microbiology. The postdoctoral researcher will employ a combination of:

• Anaerobic cultivation and experimentation with syntrophic consortia
• Physiology assays with cultures, cell suspensions, and cell-free extracts
• Microbial electrochemistry, including setting up and operating microbial fuel cells (MFC) under anoxic conditions
• Stable isotope labeling coupled to metabolomics
• Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH, CARD-FISH), advanced microscopy, community sequencing, and metagenomics

The work will be carried out in the Archaea group, Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology with collaborations at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany and the University of Southern Denmark – SDU, Odense, Denmark. The postdoctoral fellow will benefit from MicroCorr, a next-generation imaging platform integrating confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman microscopy, enabling combined structural, functional, and live/dead-resolved single-cell analyses.

We seek candidates with a strong background in anaerobic microbiology, microbial physiology, electromicrobiology, molecular biology, or related disciplines, and a scientific interest in mechanistic questions at the interface of microbiology and electromicrobiology. Experience in one or more of the following areas is desirable:

• Microbial electrochemistry (e.g., MFC, cyclic voltammetry)
• Anaerobic cultivation and handling of strictly anoxic systems
• Microbial physiology assays, analytical chemistry and metabolomics
• Meta-omics approaches
• Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH, CARD-FISH) & advanced microscopy.

Candidates with experience in electromicrobiology/MFC who are motivated to engage with complex anaerobic syntrophic systems are particularly encouraged to apply.

Qualifications:

• PhD in microbiology, bioelectrochemistry, molecular biology, or a related field
• Strong collaborative mindset and interest in interdisciplinary work
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English

The deadline for applications is 1 May 2026. Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact Associate Professor Florin Musat (florin.musat@bio.au.dk).