M/F Research Scientist in Microbiology

Job Description

Missions

The candidate (M/F) will join the MMBCA team, led by Dr. Isabelle Schalk and Dr. Gaetan Mislin, within the BSC laboratory, a research unit (UMR 7242) affiliated with CNRS and the University of Strasbourg. Under the supervision of Dr. Olivier Cunrath, the candidate will work on an ambitious research project focused on studying intestinal bacteria and their ability to produce siderophores, key molecules involved in iron acquisition, an essential element for their survival and competition within the microbiome. This project aims to characterize siderophore production by these bacteria and assess their impact on the dynamics of the intestinal microbiota, by analyzing how these molecules influence the composition and balance of microbial communities and the resistance to pathogen colonization, by investigating whether siderophore production provides a competitive advantage to commensal bacteria, thereby limiting the establishment of pathogenic strains. This work adopts a multidisciplinary approach, combining methods from molecular microbiology, biochemistry, and genomic analysis to unravel the underlying mechanisms. This ANR-funded project offers the opportunity to contribute to a deeper understanding of microbial competition mechanisms in the gut, with potential implications for developing probiotic or therapeutic strategies targeting microbiota modulation.

Activity

The candidate (M/F) will be responsible for developing and optimizing protocols to detect and quantify siderophore production in various intestinal bacterial strains studying interactions between siderophore-producing bacteria, the resident microbiota, and pathogens using in vitro models and disseminating results through scientific publications and conference presentations, in collaboration with the research team.
Main Activities:
- Conduct bacterial culture experiments of intestinal strains (commensal and pathogenic) under controlled anaerobic conditions, particularly in iron-limited media, to study their siderophore production.
- Investigate the impact of endogenous and exogenous siderophores on bacterial growth, survival, and competition within the intestinal microbiota.
- Establish interaction models (co-cultures and cellular models) to analyze how siderophores influence intestinal colonization by commensal or pathogenic bacteria.
- Analyze bacterial and cellular responses using techniques such as molecular biology (PCR, qPCR, sequencing), cell biology (flow cytometry, bacterial competition assays), microscopy (fluorescence) to visualize bacterial interactions.
- Design and implement molecular biology strategies, including targeted mutagenesis to knock out or overexpress genes involved in siderophore synthesis or transport and the construction of reporter strains (e.g., fluorescent genes) to track in situ siderophore production.
- Process and analyze experimental data (statistics, bioinformatics) to identify correlations between siderophore production, microbiota composition, and colonization resistance.
- Present results clearly and rigorously (team meetings, reports, publications).
- Actively contribute to the scientific interpretation and valorization of data (writing articles, conference presentations).
- Work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment (microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry).
Secondary Activities:
- Contribute to the general operation of the laboratory.
- Manage inventory of reagents and consumables.
- Order supplies and maintain equipment (e.g., anaerobic chambers, biosafety-level-appropriate equipment).
- Participate in team meetings and scientific knowledge dissemination within the lab (seminars, training).
- Conduct scientific literature reviews on advances related to siderophores, the intestinal microbiota, and microbial competition mechanisms.

Your Profil

Skills

Prior experience in microbiology and molecular biology is essential. The candidate (M/F) must have a strong knowledge of anaerobic bacterial culture techniques, including handling pathogenic strains under BSL-2 containment conditions. Experience with infectious cellular models (eukaryotic cell culture, bacterial infections) will be highly valued.
Expertise in flow cytometry, genetic deletion strain construction, and the development of fluorescent reporter strains will be particularly critical. Proficiency in fluorescence microscopy imaging techniques is also required. Skills in processing and quantifying scientific images (e.g., using ImageJ/Fiji or equivalent software) are additionally desirable.
The position requires fluent English proficiency, both written and spoken, for scientific literature review, international collaborations, and the writing of reports and scientific articles(CEFR C2).
Finally, we expect the candidate (M/F) to demonstrate the ability to integrate into a multidisciplinary team, autonomy and rigor in conducting experimental work and the capacity to regularly and systematically report on the progress of their experiments.

Your Work Environment

The candidate (M/F) will work within the MMBCA team (Metals and Microorganisms: Biology, Chemistry, and Applications), led by Dr. Isabelle Schalk and Dr. Gaetan Mislin, at the BSC laboratory, a research unit (UMR 7242) under CNRS and the University of Strasbourg, located at the Research Institute of the École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS). The team's biology website is: https://bsc.unistra.fr/en/research-teams/team-schalkmislin/presentation/. The team consists of approximately 23 members, including biologists and chemists, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to scientific challenges. This work is part of an ANR-funded project.
The candidate (M/F) will benefit from:
- Laboratory access via tram
- CROUS collective restaurant on campus
- Transportation (reimbursement of 75% of costs, mobility allowance of up to €300, subject to conditions)
- Social benefits:
o Contribution to health insurance (mutuelle)
o Access to the Social Action and Mutual Aid Committee (sports, leisure, ticketing, etc.)
- 44 days of paid leave + RTT per year
- Possibility of remote work

Constraints and risks

The candidate (M/F) will work in a Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) laboratory.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

€3,071.50 to €3,501.51 for less than 2 years of experience

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions