PhD student in Biological Nanoparticle Nanofluidic Scattering Microscopy

The Langhammer group at Chalmers University of Technology is looking for a highly motivated PhD student with a background in physics and/or biophysics and/or nano-optics to further develop Nanofluidic Scattering Microscopy for single exosome characterization in the context of single cell studies.

Project description
Nanofluidic Scattering Microscopy (NSM) is a novel microscopy method developed by the Langhammer group that enables the determination of size and mass of single biological nanoparticles and biomolecules in a completely label- and affinity-chemistry-free fashion (Nature Methods: DOI:10.1038/s41592-022-01491-6). It is the aim this PhD position to further develop and adapt the NSM method and the corresponding micro- and nanofluidic systems to enable single cell experiments and the analysis of secreted biological nanoparticles, such as exosomes, in the framework of a large research programme with the main aim of resolving the heterogeneity problem in exosome biology. This hetergeneity problem is the consequence of cells having evolved to release diverse subpopulations of exosomes, with diverse molecular and biophysical properties, and that this complexity has been difficult to resolve using existing experimental methodologies. In this context the project, which is a collaborative effort with the Esbjörner (coordinator) and Westerlund groups at Chalmers, the Volpe group at Gothenburg University and the El-Andaloussi group at the Karolinska Institute, will address the following key fundamental questions: (1) What exosome subtypes do cells release? (2) Where do they originate from? (3) What are their key enabling biochemical and biophysical characteristics?

The specific focus of this PhD position is to further develop and apply nanofluidic scattering microscopy for the study of biological nanoparticles, such as extracellular vesicles/exosomes by means of:
- desining the necessary nanofluidic systems,
- co-developing the necessary biofunctionalization of the surfaces of the micro- and nanofluidic systems to enable on-chip cell cultivation,
- executing nanofluidic sctattering microscopy measurements in concert with fluorescence microscopy on biologically relevant samples,
- co-developing the necessary fundamental understanding of the light scattering properties of biological nanoparticles in nanochannels and how they can be used to devise quantitative descriptors of these objects,
- co-developing machine learning based data analysis algorithms tailored for the biological systems of interest.

Information about the division and the department
The Langhammer group at the Chemical Physics Divison at the Department of Physics operates at the interface between chemical physics, nanoscience, nanoplasmonics, nanofluidics and single particle/molecule microscopy, with a particular focus on sustainable energy-related materials, nanosensors and and the development of new microscopy and imaging methods. For that purpose we continuously develop and evolve our own methodologies for state-of-the-art nanofabrication, build our own customized research instrumentation, as well as explore commercialization opportunities.

Major responsibilities
You will:
• execute experimental tasks, such as planning of experiments together with other members of the project team, running measurements of biological samples using nanofluidic microscopy and/or fluorescence microscopy, designing the necessary nanofluidic chips and participate in their nanofabrication.
• evaluate and summarize your data, among other involving state-of-the-art machine learning methods developed in collaboration with Prof. Giovanni Volpe's group at Gothenburg University, and share them with the cross-diciplinary research team of the project and at international research conferences.
• supervise Master students.
• participate at the up to 20 % level in teaching of undergraduate students.

Your major responsibilities are to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of working hours.

Qualifications
The following qualifications are mandatory:
- A Master degree in Physics, Applied Physics, Biophysics or Nanoscience.
- An experimental master thesis in one of the above areas.
- Excellent collaboration skills.
- Excellent documented written and oral English skills.

The following qualifications are considered a merit in decreasing order of importance:
- Courses and/or a master thesis project in optical microscopy/spectroscopy for biophysics applications
- Hands-on experience with experimental nanofluidics and/or microfluidics
- Hands-on experience with advanced optical microscopy
- Computer programming skills using Python and MATLAB
- Experience with numerical simulation tools such as Comsol Multiphysics or computational fluid dynamics
- Experience with Finite Difference Time Domain electrodynamics simulations
- Experience with analysis of complex scientific data e.g. through machine learning

The position also requires excellent communication skills in written and spoken English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses. Applicants who do not have English or a Scandinavian language as their mother tongue need to provide documentation of good communication skills in English, typically evidenced by an English language test, for example TOEFL 550 (paper-based)/TOEFL 213 (computer-based), and exemplified during the interview process prior to admission.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Application deadline: 26-03-2023

For questions, please contact:
Christoph Langhammer, Professor, Chemical Physics, Physics
E-mail: clangham@chalmers.se
Phone: +46736528980

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***