A postdoctoral position is available on May 5, 2025 in the Venturelli Lab. The Venturelli Lab aims to understand how interactions across genetic, molecular and ecological scales combine to generate microbial community behaviors. We seek to understand and engineer the spatiotemporal behaviors of biological networks using tools from systems and synthetic biology. A major goal is to design novel strategies to precisely shift microbiomes to desired metabolic states. Our research combines multiplexed measurements of single cells, populations and ecosystems with concepts from nonlinear dynamical systems, control theory, multi-objective optimization and machine learning.

The specific project aims to understand the multiscale interactions shaping human gut bacteria and human gut pathogens. The project will combine advanced techniques in synthetic biology, genetic engineering of human gut bacteria, multi omics and high-throughput anaerobic bacterial culturing.

Qualifications include a PhD in biology or engineering. The ideal candidate will have experience in microbiology techniques and genetic manipulation of diverse bacterial species. Postdoctoral fellows are expected to independently lead research projects, publish findings in peer-reviewed journals, and present at scientific conferences. Additional responsibilities include contributing to lab organization and maintenance, fostering collaborations within and beyond the lab. Interested candidates should send their CV, description of research goals and names of reference writers to Dr. Ophelia Venturelli (ophelia.venturelli@duke.edu).

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