Bacterial electrophysiology for diagnosis and modulation of cell vitality at University of Warwick on FindAPhD.com

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Dr Munehiro Asally No more applications being accepted Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Coventry United Kingdom Bacteriology Cell Biology Biological Sciences

About the Project

This industrial cooperative awards in science & technology (iCASE) PhD project will be studying the physiological dynamics of the model bacteria E. coli and B. subtilis and their membrane potential dynamics. We invite candidates with backgrounds in synthetic biology, microbiology and biophysics to apply.

The Asally lab has a proven track record in the study of bacterial electrophysiology and bacterial electrical signalling (Benarroch and Asally, 2020; Prindle et al., 2015; Sirec et al., 2019). Please also see the laboratory website for the group’s research (https://homepages.warwick.ac.uk/staff/M.Asally/).

In a recent study, the lab made a discovery that demonstrated the correlation between bacterial membrane potential dynamics and cellular proliferation state (Edwards et al., 2020; Stratford et al., 2019). This discovery has led to the creation of Cytecom Ltd. which has developed an innovative device for bacterial electrophysiology. Cytecom’s technology allows characterisation and modulation of bacterial membrane potential dynamics. Building on the success, this project has two exciting goals:

The project will characterise the electrically induced membrane potential dynamics of cells, thereby increasing our understanding of the complex interplay between gene regulation and physiological dynamics, which is crucial for many biological processes.
The project will explore the modulation of growth rates and antibiotic tolerance in bacterial cells using electrical stimulation, which will provide exciting new avenues for the diagnosis of microbial infections, the classification of bacterial samples, and the development of antimicrobial compounds.

You will combine molecular biology, fluorescence time-lapse microscopy, biophysical assays, and computational modelling.

The project outcomes will expand the applications of the Cytecom’s machine into the fields of healthcare diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance. With the ability to modulate the growth rates of bacterial cells, we could unlock a whole new world of engineering and synthetic biology – with precision in space and time.

Candidates are encouraged to contact Dr Munehiro Asally to discuss the project before applying if they wish to.

Funding Notes

Studentships provide:
Full Tuition fees
A tax free annual stipend for living expenses (in academic year 2022-23 this was £17,668)
A travel / conference budget
A generous consumables budget
Use of a laptop for the duration of the programme.

References

References:
Benarroch, J.M., and Asally, M. (2020). The Microbiologist’s Guide to Membrane Potential Dynamics. Trends Microbiol. 28, 304–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2019.12.008.
Edwards, C.L.A., Malyshev, D., Stratford, J.P., and Asally, M. (2020). Rapid Detection of Proliferative Bacteria by Electrical Stimulation. Bio-Protocol.
Prindle, A., Liu, J., Asally, M., Ly, S., Garcia-Ojalvo, J., and Süel, G.M. (2015). Ion channels enable electrical communication in bacterial communities. Nature 527, 59–63. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15709.
Sirec, T., Benarroch, J.M., Buffard, P., Garcia-Ojalvo, J., and Asally, M. (2019). Electrical Polarization Enables Integrative Quality Control during Bacterial Differentiation into Spores. IScience 16, 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2019.05.044.
Stratford, J.P., Edwards, C.L.A., Ghanshyam, M.J., Malyshev, D., Delise, M.A., Hayashi, Y., and Asally, M. (2019). Electrically induced bacterial membrane-potential dynamics correspond to cellular proliferation capacity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 116, 9552–9557. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901788116.

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