Postdoctoral researcher in CIS Engineering for Antimicrobials and Biocontrol Full-time

Postdoctoral Researcher in CIS Engineering for Antimicrobials and Biocontrol

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 47,000 students and more than 8,800 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

The position is based at Lund University's Faculty of Medicine, within the Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, specifically the Medical Structural Biology research unit. The division focuses on uncovering molecular mechanisms of health and disease through advanced imaging and biophysical approaches.

The research group hosting this position studies Contractile Injection Systems (CIS) — natural protein machines used by bacteria to deliver molecular cargo. The group's mission is to understand the structure, function, and application of CIS for use in both biopesticide development and targeted antimicrobial delivery. The team is interdisciplinary, with expertise in molecular microbiology, structural biology, bioinformatics, and protein engineering, and currently includes the PI, a PhD student, and a research expert in bioinformatics.

The workplace fosters strong international collaboration, with close integration with the Halberg Group at Copenhagen University (Insect neuroendocrinology and physiology) and the Collin Group (immune-relevant enzymology and translational infection research) at Lund University. The postdoctoral researcher will work primarily in Lund but is expected to engage in frequent collaborative work across the Öresund region, including regular experimental coordination with Copenhagen-based researchers and data collection at national facilities such as MAX IV (Lund), SciLifeLab (Stockholm), and CFIM (Copenhagen), where cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and tomography (cryo-ET) are performed.

The group values a collegial and supportive research environment, with open communication, structured mentoring, and a strong emphasis on work-life balance. Lund University provides an excellent infrastructure for interdisciplinary and early-career research development.

This post-doctoral position is part of the EU cofund research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, which will address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ, and organism levels of organization, and is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

AMBER is funded by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme.

Around 15 postdocs will be recruited in the fifth call 2026, with each fellowship lasting 36 months.

AMBER has six core partners: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.

Your work may include clinical and biomedical projects. It may also include technique development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated picture of life processes in the context of health and disease. To be a postdoc fellow at the AMBER programme you will get unprecedented medical, biological, and methodological capabilities, with a profound potential impact for Europe's next generation of research and researchers. When you have completed the AMBER programme you will be extraordinarily well equipped to further your career in academia, at infrastructures, in the health and MedTech sectors, and beyond.

This interdisciplinary project explores the discovery, structural analysis, and rational redesign of bacterial Contractile Injection Systems (CIS) — evolutionarily conserved protein complexes that function as nano-syringes to inject molecular effectors into target cells. CIS hold exceptional promise as modular and programmable tools for precision delivery of biomolecules, with transformative applications in infection biology, biomedicine, and sustainable agriculture.

The project addresses two primary application areas:

In biomedicine: the aim is to selectively target and neutralize antibiotic-resistant pathogens (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus) by delivering customized antimicrobial payloads such as enzymes, CRISPR-Cas constructs, or peptides via engineered CIS. This work emphasizes specificity, minimizing disruption to the commensal microbiota.

In insect pest management: reprogrammed CIS are designed to deliver neuropeptides or RNA interference (RNAi) molecules to key osmoregulatory targets in pest species (e.g., beetles), reducing chemical pesticide usage while sparing beneficial insects.

The research involves:

• Microbiome sequencing and metagenomic mining to identify novel CIS candidates from diverse ecological niches (skin, gut, insect microbiomes)
• Recombinant expression and purification of CIS variants
• High-resolution cryo-EM and cryo-ET imaging to resolve molecular structure and guide engineering
• Protein design and molecular modeling, supported by AI tools such as AlphaFold2
• Development of functional assays in insect and bacterial systems to evaluate targeting, delivery, and physiological effects

This project is hosted at the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University in the Department of Experimental Medical Science and involves close collaboration with:

• The Halberg Group (University of Copenhagen) – experts in insect physiology and osmoregulatory control
• The Collin Lab (Lund University) – leaders in bacterial pathogenesis and enzymatic immune modulation

Cryo-EM and cryo-ET data collection will be carried out at national facilities including MAX IV (Lund) and partner platforms in Stockholm and Copenhagen. This postdoctoral fellowship offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface of structural biology, microbiome research, and applied biotechnology, contributing to the development of next-generation therapeutic and biocontrol strategies.

At Lund University, a postdoctoral position should provide opportunities for scientific and pedagogical qualifications. Primarily, there is scope for qualifications in research, but also for some higher education pedagogy training. Teaching may also be part of the job duties.

As a postdoctoral researcher in this interdisciplinary project, you will play a key role in the development of programmable CIS/BIS, combining structural biology, microbiome analysis, and protein engineering to create novel precision delivery tools.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Identifying and characterizing new CIS candidates through microbiome sequencing, metagenomic mining, and comparative genomics
• Cloning, expressing, and purifying CIS proteins or complexes using advanced molecular biology techniques
• Performing cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) for high-resolution structural analysis of CIS
• Redesigning CIS components and engineering new variants for delivery of specific effectors (e.g., antimicrobial peptides, RNAi, CRISPR-based constructs)
• Conducting functional in vitro and in vivo assays to evaluate target specificity, delivery efficiency, and phenotypic effects in bacterial and/or insect systems
• Analyzing and interpreting structural, functional, and bioinformatic data, and contributing to collaborative publication efforts
• Engaging with an interdisciplinary research team, including microbiologists, structural biologists, and host-pathogen experts
• Presenting your work at national and international conferences, and contributing to funding applications and dissemination activities

You will be based at Lund University (Lund, Sweden), with frequent interaction with collaborators at University of Copenhagen and regular visits to national imaging facilities, such as MAX IV in Lund, and partner cryo-EM centres in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Short research stays or secondments may also be arranged, depending on your career development plan.

While the position follows standard full-time working hours, flexibility may be required during data collection periods, especially when using high-demand infrastructure facilities (e.g., synchrotron/cryo-EM sessions). Travel within Europe for conferences, collaboration meetings, or training is expected.

This role offers a high degree of autonomy and creativity and is ideal for a researcher eager to contribute to next-generation bioengineering solutions while building strong interdisciplinary expertise.

Minimum requirements are:

• Candidate needs to have a maximum 8 years after a doctoral degree (PhD), as required by the project Grant Agreement signed with the European Commission,
• At least one original publication in a peer-reviewed journal,
• A background in the relevant methods,
• A complete application package submitted through the AMBER portal (including CV and detailed research plan), and finally,
• Strict compliance with the MSCA mobility rule that the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host organization's country for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the call deadline.

Each project will have additional specific requirements