Open PhD position in theoretical biology

Note: This position has now been filled.

We are recruiting!

I am looking for a motivated and curious PhD student to work on building mathematical and computational models of evolving multi-species bacterial communities at the Department of Fundamental Microbiology in the beautiful city of Lausanne, Switzerland. The position is fully funded with a generous salary, and can start any time after May, 2017 (exceptions can be made to start earlier).

The successful candidate will work within a multi-disciplinary group to construct models that capture interactions between five bacterial species. These models will then be fit to data observed in the lab, and used to make predictions regarding population stability and productivity, that can later be validated again in the laboratory. The work will include dynamical systems (differential equations), individual-based models, and possibly control theory. A background in any of these fields is not required but will be appreciated. A passion for the subject, programming skills and a good command of written and spoken English are required.

Please send questions and applications (including a one-page motivation letter with your research interests, a CV and evidence of a Master’s degree) to me at sara.mitri[at]unil.ch.

Two new papers published

Read our latest publications: the first discusses how microbial migration can increase the effectiveness of horizontal gene transfer, such that ecologically important loci can sweep through populations. This can shape microbial genomes and the ecology of different species. The second paper studies the effect of resource abundance on spatial patterns in bacterial colonies. It shows a fundamental link between the structure of bacterial groups and a near-universal feature of biological systems: nutrient limitation.

Hiring: Research associate (50% to 60% employment)

I am looking to hire a research associate to work on the evolution of social interactions between bacterial species. The goal of the project is to disentangle fitness effects over short and evolutionary time-scales between five species of bacteria that are used for biodegradation. The candidate will be employed part-time (50% to 60%) for a period of 2 to 3 years.

Note: This position has been filled. Read more