Postdoctoral Fellow in Nanotechnology for Gas Sensing in Medical Diagnostics

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Fellow in Nanotechnology for Gas Sensing in Medical Diagnostics to join our dynamic and interdisciplinary research team. The successful candidate will design nanostructured chemoresistive gas sensors to quantify volatile biomarkers associated with bacterial activity for medical diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiling.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) affect over 150 million individuals annually, ranging from mild symptoms to severe conditions such as pyelonephritis and urosepsis. Current diagnostic methods are time-consuming and require specialized knowledge and equipment, leading to delays and the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics that contribute to the growing AMR crisis. In 2023, the World Health Organization has initiated the AMR Diagnostic Initiative to promote the development of novel diagnostic tools for AMR with improved speed, usability and precision.

We aim at developing a novel diagnostic device for UTI that leverages the volatilomics of bacterial species. Your contribution will be the development of gas sensors to detect volatile biomarkers associated to uropathogens. Nanotechnology offers solutions to design sensing materials with large specific surface areas and tailored surface chemistry to distinctly interact with the targeted molecules. This PostDoc position is part of a larger consortium bringing together engineering, data science, microbiology and medical expertise from ETH Zürich, University Zürich and Balgrist Hospital.

• Design, fabrication and testing of nanomaterials for selective chemoresistive sensing
• Nanomaterial and surface characterization to elucidate structure-function relationships
• Aiding the construction and the delivery of a diagnostic device for UTI
• Collaborate closely with interdisciplinary teams, including clinical partners, engineers, and microbiologists
• Prepare manuscripts, reports, and presentations to disseminate findings

Qualification

• PhD in engineering (mechanical, chemical, electrical), materials science, chemistry, physics or closely related field
• Proficiency in nanomaterial synthesis and characterization
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (Proficient in English)

Preferred Qualification

• Experience in chemoresistive gas sensor development
• Experience in thin film deposition
• Experience in surface characterization techniques (e.g. DRIFTS, XPS)
• Experience with bacteria cultures

• Opportunities to engage with different communities bridging materials/chemical/mechanical and biomedical research leading to high impact publications
• You will be part of a highly motivated, multidisciplinary and collaborative team
• We will support your scientific career and application for postdoctoral fellowships on your path towards scientific leadership
• You will have flexibility to develop your own line of research within the framework of this project
• We encourage the attendance of relevant (inter-) national conferences to increase your visibility and present the project outcomes
• You will be involved in the supervision of junior researchers and teaching in the lab
• Access to state-of-the-art computational resources and collaborative research networks