PhD and postdoc positions in the Quasi-Living Materials Group – PhagoSynCell project
Location: IBEC, Barcelona, Spain
The Quasi-Living Materials Research Group is offering a PhD and postdoc position to work as part of the PhagoSynCell Project (ERC Consolidator Grant), which aims to create synthetic cells capable of performing a rudimentary form of artificial phagocytosis and to develop a new class of antimicrobials against antibiotic-resistant pathogens, one of the biggest challenges of contemporary medicine.
Application deadline: 30 October 2026
PhD (3 years) — Design of super predatory vesicles
“In the context of the ERC PhagoSynCell, we are developing vesicles capable of capturing, engulfing and killing bacteria. These vesicles are built from supramolecular amphiphilic comb polymers (iCPs, 10.1002/advs.202200617 and 10.1002/advs.202411497) that self-assemble in water into vesicles, termed combisomes. This PhD project sits at the interface between polymer synthesis and soft matter: it will focus on the design and synthesis of novel iCPs and on understanding how their molecular architecture governs self-assembly, membrane properties and function. The objectives are to: (1) increase combisome stability in biological media, (2) maximise engulfment of pathogens in biological media, and (3) unravel the underlying molecular design rules.”
Postdoc (18 months) — Engineering of Novel Antimicrobial Phagocytic Vesicles
“In the context of the ERC PhagoSynCell we are developing vesicles capable of capturing, engulfing and killing bacteria. These vesicles are built from supramolecular amphiphilic comb polymers (iCPs, 10.1002/advs.202200617 and 10.1002/advs.202411497) that self-assemble in water into vesicles, termed combisomes. This postdoctoral project sits at the interface between polymer synthesis and soft matter. You will take the lead on its most demanding synthetic and mechanistic questions: the design and synthesis of novel iCPs, and a quantitative understanding of how their topology, architecture and composition govern self-assembly, membrane mechanics and the engulfment of bacteria. The objectives are to: (1) increase combisome stability in biological media, (2) maximize engulfment of pathogens in biological media, and (3) unravel the underlying molecular design rules.”