PhD Studentship in Biosensors: The development of novel bioelectronic sensors of antimicrobial resistance

Applications are invited for a fully funded, three-year PhD studentship starting in October 2017 in the Bio-Inspired Technologies research group in the Department of Electronics under the supervision of Dr Steve Johnson to focus on the development of novel bioelectronic sensors of antimicrobial resistance.

This project aims to investigate and develop new technology formed from an integration of electronics and biology for tackling the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance .

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified as a major threat to public health worldwide; it has been predicted that by 2050, AMR will lead to as many as 300 million premature deaths and up to $100 trillion lost to the global economy. The need to improve antibiotic stewardship and preserve the efficacy of existing antibiotics is thus a matter of urgency. Diagnostic technology will play a pivotal role in achieving this goal. This project will develop new biosensors that are capable of rapidly phenotyping bacteria. The technology will build on our prior research into innovative biosensor microarrays[1] to uniquely combine recognition of pathogenic bacteria, quantification of bacterial load and identification of antibiotic resistance in a single sensor array platform.

This is a highly inter-disciplinary project. The student will thus gain comprehensive experience in the fabrication, characterization and design of novel biosensors, analytical biophysical tools and basic microbiology. Full-time training for postgraduate students, tailored to their particular degree background, is provided within an active research group.

Keywords: Biosensor, Diagnostics, Electronic Engineering, Antimicrobial resistance

[1] J. J. Colas et al. The electrophotonic silicon biosensor, Nature Commun. 7, 12769 (2016); E. Koutsoumpeli et al. Probing molecular interactions with methylene blue derivatized self-assembled monolayers. Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research, 6, 1 (2015); D. Evans et al., Label-free electrochemical sensing of peptide aptamer–protein interactions using micro-electrode arrays, J. Biol, 7, 3 (2008)

If you are interested in applying for this studentship and would like to know more about the project, please contact Dr Steve Johnson in the first instance, email [Email Address Removed]

For further details on this opportunity and how to apply, please visit the Department of Electronics website at:
https://www.york.ac.uk/electronics/postgraduate/funding/phd_studentship_biosensors/