University professor funded through the IN and OUT project of the European Research Council

Organisation/Company Uniwersytet Jagielloński Department Malopolska Center of Biotechnology Research Field Biological sciences » Biology Researcher Profile Established Researcher (R3) Positions Postdoc Positions Final date to receive applications 12 Aug 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Warsaw) Country Poland Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Rector of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland) invites applications for the position of an assistant professor funded through the research project of the European Research Council (ERC) titled “ In with the good, out with the bad: understanding small molecule influx and efflux in gut ” ( IN and OUT )

The human gut microbiome has a profound influence on many aspects of human health. The Bacteroides genus belongs to the Gram-negative Bacteroidetes phylum and is the most abundant genus in the guts of western world populations. Bacteroides have received much attention due to their ability to utilise dietary glycans that are inaccessible to the host ("fibre"). However, the ability to degrade fibre is unlikely to explain the dominance of Bacteroides, given the fibre-poor diets in western societies.

Since microbial and epithelial cell turnover in the human gut is very high, there are many diet-independent nutrient sources within the gut, and we hypothesise that Bacteroides have evolved to efficiently utilise those. In addition, noxious compounds such as bile acids and antibiotics need to be removed from the cell. All these processes depend critically on lipoproteins, channels and transporters residing in the bacterial outer membrane (OM).

The EU-funded project "IN and OUT" aims to identify novel OM influx and efflux processes in gut Bacteroides via a multi-disciplinary approach to understand why this genus is so abundant. Compared to Proteobacteria like

E. coli in which these processes have been studied in detail, OM influx and efflux in the phylogenetically distant Bacteroides is largely terra incognita. The first strand within the project (INFLUX) focuses on acquisition of abundant nutrients within the gut, such as proteins, peptidoglycan, nucleic acids and lipids. The second strand (EFFLUX) is dedicated to studying efflux pumps, which play important roles in removing toxic molecules like antibiotics and human drugs from the cell.

In both projects you will discover novel biology that will contribute to our understanding why the genus Bacteroides is so abundant in the human gut.

Research Field Biological sciences » Biology Education Level PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The selection procedure is open for all individuals, who meet the requirements set out in Articles 113 and 116.2.3) of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science, and who meet the following eligibility criteria according to § 165 of the Statute of the Jagiellonian University:

• holding at least a doctoral degree;
• having relevant scientific achievements;
• taking active part in scientific life.

• A PhD in microbiology, structural biology or a related discipline, such as biophysics or biochemistry.
• A minimum of 12 months’ research experience gained outside one’s country of origin and at least 12 months’ experience in an international research environment in the field of structural biology or microbiology.
• A proven track record of publications in peer-reviewed journals with a high impact factor. Candidates (F/M) with publications as first author or joined first author in adequate journals will be particularly favored.
• Proven ability to write and produce high-quality scientific publications in prestigious journals (e.g. from the “Nature” portfolio).
• Highly experienced in microbiology, preferably with skills related to culturing anaerobic bacteria.
• Knowledge of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) techniques, specifically single-particle analysis, as well as X-ray crystallography and molecular modelling.
• A proven ability to produce visualizations of complex biological concepts…