The Young Researcher will be trained in the Laboratory of Biocybernetics (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering), which is an international interdisciplinary group composed of engineers, biologists, microbiologists, medical doctors and chemists. Major direction pursued in the research group is the use of high-intensity pulsed electric fields in biomedicine and biotechnology. Exposure of biological cells and tissues to pulsed electric fields induces transient alteration of the cell membrane, which results in transient increase of membrane permeability. This increased membrane permeability allows to deliver therapeutic molecules into cells or to extract valuable molecules from cells (see the following video for an overview of different applications of electroporation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqDf9DxZlXc).
While electroporation is becoming widely used, we still have many questions on what happens during electroporation and if and how electroporation differs when using different pulse parameters (e.g. nano- to millisecond pulses). During his/her training Young Researcher will participate in currently ongoing research projects and in the Reseacrh Programme P2-0249, and will focus towards gaining better understanding of fundamental mechanisms of electroporation at the membrane and cellular level. This can include developing instruments and devices, conducting experiments on different levels of biological complexity (lipid bilayers, vesicles, cells, ex vivo tissues) and using modelling approaches (e.g., molecular dynamics simulations, finite element modeling) to test our understanding of the observed and studied phenomena.
The candidate should be proficient in English language. Background in natural or engineering sciences is considered to be an advantage.
Interested candidates should contact Prof Damijan Miklavčič for more information, . Download the document with the complete job description here.