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We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

This Wellcome Trust funded post is part of a bigger project that combines atomic force microscopy (AFM), super-resolution microscopy, microbiology, and image analysis tools to understand how the cell wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae reacts to antimicrobials at the nanometric level.

Pneumonia causes more than one million deaths annually and S. pneumoniae is the main pathogen that causes this disease, yet we still lack detailed knowledge of how antibiotics work at the nanoscale level. Most antibiotics target the bacterial cell wall, but antimicrobial resistance is a rising health emergency, and they are being less effective against resistant strains. We do not fully understand the architecture of the cell wall of S. pneumoniae and how is related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Our lab is in a strong position to decipher these features, having achieved the highest resolution imaging of S. pneumoniae cell walls by atomic force microscopy (AFM).

This project will use cutting-edge microscopy and image analysis tools to:

• Decipher the architecture of the S. pneumoniae clinical isolates cell wall at nanometric resolution
• Determine precisely how antibiotics damage this key bacterial target
• Test novel antimicrobial strategies focusing on bacteriophage cocktails, and compare their effects to traditional antibiotics

The group consists of Dr Laia Pasquina, a Research Fellow supported by The Wellcome Trust, and a UKRI PhD student focused on understanding the structure of the S. pneumoniae cell wall and how it divides, plus undergraduate and master project students. We also collaborate closely with two PhD students based in the Physics department. We share lab space with other research groups in Biosciences and actively collaborate with established international microbiology teams (mainly from France and the US), fostering a truly interdisciplinary environment. We are a collaborative team where learning and helping each other is central.

Applicants must hold a PhD or be close to completion (or have equivalent postdoctoral level work experience) in life sciences or physical sciences with experience of using biophysical approaches such as microscopy to understand biological systems and be willing to learn new tools. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal along with experience of working in an interdisciplinary environment and overcome troubleshooting complex problems from different points of view are also essential.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Conduct atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments to investigate S. pneumoniae cell wall architecture and antibiotic damage of clinical strains
• Apply super-resolution microscopy techniques (FluorescenceForce/STORMforce) to determine if the locations of damage from antibiotic correlate to peptidoglycan synthesis regions which are key for normal cell division.
• Use general microbiology techniques and assays to grow and maintain the bacterial strains for microscopy and test the effectivity of novel antimicrobials.
• Develop and optimise an automatic image analysis pipeline to correlate learnings from AFM and super-resolution data.
• Work closely with collaborators to design an experimental set-up applying the previous tools above to test the effectivity of novel bacteriophage cocktails on the cell wall architecture of various Gram-positive bacteria strains.
• Design and execute experiments in collaboration with the research team both at the local level and the wider international collaboration network
• Analyse and record data to design future experiments and produce useful findings for others according to FAIR data management guidelines.
• Lead at least one main paper to be published in a scientific journal.
• Prepare and deliver presentations at TUoS, national and international conferences.
• Provide support to other members of the research team in the Pasquina Lab and collaborators closely related to our field of research.
• Take part in cluster, school of biosciences and other outreach activities.
• As a member of staff, you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience does not match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Further Information

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in the weeks following the closing date. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within two weeks of the advertised closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process please contact bioscienceshradmin@sheffield.ac.uk.

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes.
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Closing Date : 05/02/2026 

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.