Introduction to the vacant position:
The Quasi-Living Materials Research Group is looking for a postdoctoral researcher within the framework of the ERC Consolidator Grant project PhagoSynCell. Our ambition is to create drug-free, living-like therapeutics against multidrug-resistant bacteria: phagocytic synthetic cells (PSCs) that destroy bacteria by physically engulfing them, a route no antibiotic uses and to which resistance cannot be acquired by the mechanisms that defeat conventional drugs.
You will lead the in vivo efficacy evaluation: evaluating the antimicrobial activity of these new synthetic cells against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, in planktonic form and in biofilms, in physiologically relevant culture media and in animal models. You will bring microbiology into a group built on chemistry and biophysics, with access to IBEC’s BSL-2 facilities and to our collaborators at ISGlobal and in our international antimicrobial-resistance network.
Main tasks and responsibilities:
- Establish and characterise in vitro planktonic and biofilm models of clinically relevant, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Quantify the antimicrobial activity of a library of PSC compositions against planktonic and biofilm-grown bacteria, using MIC/MBC determination, time-kill curve analysis, anti-biofilm assays (e.g., MBEC/Calgary-type) and CFU counting.
- Extend the testing to clinical isolates and to physiologically relevant media, including mucus.
- Use fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy to observe engulfment and killing in real time, to determine whether PSCs penetrate the biofilm matrix, and to establish the fate of engulfed bacteria — whether they die, remain latent, or escape.
- Characterise the morphological and ultrastructural damage inflicted on bacteria by PSCs (e.g., by atomic force and electron microscopy), together with the biophysicists in the group, to help elucidate the mechanism of action.
- Deliver the correlation between PSC composition and antibacterial efficacy across planktonic, biofilm and clinical conditions.
- Assess in vitro cytocompatibility of selected PSC formulations in cell lines, using viability, live/dead and metabolic activity assays.
- Evaluate the toxicity and antimicrobial efficacy of lead PSC formulations in vivo, using animal infection models (e.g., Galleria mellonella or other invertebrate and small-animal models), as a first step towards preclinical validation.
- Work closely with the chemists and biophysicists in the group, and with our collaborators at ISGlobal and in our international antimicrobial-resistance network.
Requirements for candidates:
Essential:
- An excellence-driven, highly motivated, ambitious, resilient person who loves interdisciplinary fundamental research and applications in medicine.
- PhD in Microbiology, Biomedicine or Translational Medicine with a strong microbiology focus, Biotechnology or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience in bacterial culture and in working with bacterial biofilms: establishing in vitro biofilm models and quantifying anti-biofilm activity and biofilm viability.
- Experience in the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of new compounds: MIC/MBC determination, time-kill curve analysis, CFU quantification and anti-biofilm assays.
- Experience working with multidrug-resistant bacteria and clinical isolates under BSL-2 conditions.
- Hands-on experience with in vivo animal models for assessing the toxicity and antimicrobial efficacy of new compounds (e.g., invertebrate infection models such as Galleria mellonella or Caenorhabditis elegans, and/or rodent models).
- Experience in fluorescence and confocal microscopy of microbial samples, including live/dead staining and image analysis.
- Experience in mammalian cell culture and in vitro cytotoxicity/cytocompatibility assays.
- Proven ability to run a project independently and deliver results on a demanding timeline.
- Enthusiasm for working at the interface with chemists and physicists in a strongly interdisciplinary team.
- Competencies and skills: Communication, Teamwork and collaboration, Commitment, Proactivity, Integrity, Critical and Analytical thinking.
- Good command of English, spoken and written.
- Align with the team’s values and vision.
Advantageous:
- Hands-on experience with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other high-resolution microscopy techniques (e.g., TEM/SEM) for the ultrastructural analysis of bacterial damage.
- Experience with antimicrobial peptides or other membrane-active antimicrobials, and in the study of their mechanism of action (e.g., model lipid membranes, compound–membrane interactions).
- Experience with respiratory pathogens and other clinically relevant Gram-positive and Gram-negative species.
- Molecular microbiology techniques (PCR/qPCR) for the identification and quantification of microorganisms in complex samples.
- Quantitative image analysis (Fiji/ImageJ, Imaris).
- Experience testing antimicrobials in complex biological media such as mucus, or in flow-cell/microfluidic biofilm systems.
- Familiarity with nanomedicine, liposomes, vesicles or other colloidal delivery systems.
- Experience in supervising students and in good documentation practices (e.g., drafting standard operating procedures) to ensure data traceability and reproducibility.
Competencies and Skills:
We value not only technical expertise but also the demonstration of core competencies such as Communication, Teamwork and Collaboration, Commitment, Proactivity, Integrity, and Critical and Analytical Thinking.
We Offer:
- Number of available positions: 1
- Starting date: 16/12/2026
- Working conditions:
- Full- time Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration.
- Measures to reconcile work and family life (parental leave, flexible schedule working hours, 23 working days of paid holidays, 9 leave days for personal matters, among others).
- IBEC ensures equality of access to professional development opportunities irrespective of employment status, length at IBEC or other factors. The IBEC’s yearly training catalogue offers a wide range of training in technical and transferable skills including mobility grants and a Mentoring programme for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers.
- Stimulating, interdisciplinary research and high-quality international scientific environment.
- Induction programme to facilitate incorporation at IBEC and additional support is provided for foreigners to obtain Visa-working permit and to install in Barcelona.
How to apply:
Until 27/11/2026 an online application form is available through IBEC dedicated site: https://careers.ibecbarcelona.eu/ including an original cover letter for the specific position stating why you want this position and why you are the right candidate for this position. Please also include the contact of two supporting references willing to be contacted.
Only those applications submitted before the deadline will be evaluated.
Reference: PR-CR.
If you have any further question regarding your application, please contact us at jobs@ibecbarcelona.eu
Principles of the selection process:
IBEC is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit based Recruitment principles (OTM-R) https://ibecbarcelona.eu/careers-at-ibec/jobs/
IBEC´s Commitment on equal opportunity, diversity, and Inclusion:
Our strength and excellence as an international transdisciplinary Research Institute are based on diversity. Being an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to diversity and inclusion, so that we support employees irrespective of their gender, nationality, religion, disabilities, age, sexual identity or cultural and socioeconomic background.
Visit our devoted webpage on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
For candidates with children that come from outside Barcelona, we offer babysitting services during the interview, so you don’t have to worry about anything else than doing a good interview. Contact us if you are interested in this service.
In categories where women are underrepresented, such as Group Leader positions, and with the aim of ensuring gender balance in recruitment processes, women candidates must represent at least 50% of those interviewed for Junior-level positions and 40% for Senior-level positions, provided they have CVs comparable to those of male candidates. At the end of the evaluation process, in cases of equal merit, preference will be given to women candidates.
IBEC, as a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), will consider, especially for early-stage investigators, much more the scientific content of research outputs, than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it were published.
Protection of personal data:
IBEC guarantees that candidates’ personal data are processed in accordance with the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Law 3/2018 on Data Protection.
Personal data will be processed solely for the purposes of the selection process.
Who we are?
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, IBEC is an interdisciplinary research center focused on Bioengineering and Nanomedicine based in Barcelona. IBEC is one of the top research institutions named as a Severo Ochoa Research Centre by the Ministry of Science, Universities and Innovation, which recognizes excellence at the highest international level in terms of research, training, human resources, outreach and technology transfer.
IBEC’s mission is to develop international high-quality interdisciplinary research that, while creating knowledge, contributes to making a better quality of life, improving health and creating wealth. A close link with key universities, reference hospitals and corporations, are assets that facilitate achieving the mission.
IBEC was established in 2005 by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomous Government of Catalonia), the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC).
IBEC is located within the Barcelona Science Park and UPC Besós Campus, with an annual budget of 21 Mio€; 4.400 square meters of facilities; 25 research groups and a team of researchers and support services of 450 people from 40 different countries. www.ibecbarcelona.eu
