Research Assistant/Associate Bacteria

Newcastle University - Centre of Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB)

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the Northeast of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

The Role

Are you looking for an exciting postdoctoral position to conduct cutting-edge research on bacterial bioenergetics and membrane biology? In the advertised role, you would join a BBSRC-funded interdisciplinary research project that brings together the teams of Henrik Strahl (Newcastle University) and Nadav Amdursky (University of Sheffield) to study how bacterial proton motive force (PMF) is transmitted between PMF-generating and consuming cellular machineries.

As part of this interdisciplinary team, your work will focus on modulating membrane lipid and protein composition in vivo and monitoring related cellular bioenergetic parameters, including transmembrane electric potential, H⁺ gradient, and cellular ATP levels, using advanced single-cell techniques. The research will be carried out on the highly tractable Gram+ model organism Bacillus subtilis. A background in bacterial membrane biology and bioenergetics would position you well to collaboratively carry out the planned research programme.

You will join Henrik Strahl's group at the Centre of Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB), a world-class research centre at Newcastle University, focused on the molecular and cellular biology of bacteria. As a member of CBCB and the cross-university research project, this appointment will give you valuable experience in modern interdisciplinary team science. Prior experience in collaborative research is seen as an advantage.

This interdisciplinary project leverages a novel, environmentally sensitive fluorescent probe to investigate fundamental biophysical mechanisms that underpin cellular bioenergetics. The new probe enables unprecedented direct monitoring of proton transfer and diffusion at the bacterial membrane surface, which is essential for coupling PMF-generating cellular machineries such as the respiratory chain to PMF-driven processes, including ATP synthesis, motility, nutrient uptake, and antibiotic efflux. The primary aim of this project is to investigate how membrane lipid composition and physicochemical properties, such as membrane fluidity and lipid domain formation, regulate PMF-dependent processes vital to bacterial cell function. By focusing on ATP synthase as a model PMF-driven system, this research will clarify how bacteria direct respiration-derived protons towards ATP synthesis, a key open question in bacterial bioenergetics.

The project thus focuses on one of the most fundamental biological processes: energy conversion at the cellular level and coupling between the associated cellular machineries. The project also explores the analytical potential of this novel probe for studying membrane-targeting antibiotics, utilising its high sensitivity to detect subtle drug-target interactions in vivo. This part-project will characterise how membrane-targeting compounds disrupt proton diffusion, contributing to understanding the low antimicrobial resistance rates associated with this promising antibiotic class and advancing future drug development strategies.

Fixed post for 3 years.

For informal enquiries, please contact Henrik Strahl via email (h.strahl@ncl.ac.uk) or BlueSky (@henrikstrahl.bsky.social).

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences.

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/.

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Find out more about the research group and the research centre here:

strahllab.weebly.com

www.ncl.ac.uk/cbcb/