AMBER Postdoctoral Fellowship: Next generation vitrification workflows for cryo-ET - Enabling h[...]

EMBL; Grenoble; Hybride; EUR 35 000 - 50 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Monthly family and child allowances

Private medical insurance for the fellow and family

30 days annual leave plus public holidays

Résumé du poste

EMBL in Grenoble is seeking a postdoctoral fellow for the AMBER project, focusing on cryo-electron tomography for microbial cell biology. This position, with a 3-year contract, involves developing innovative sample preparation workflows and conducting high-throughput imaging of various microorganisms.

The ideal candidate should have a PhD obtained within the last eight years, and experience in cryo-electron microscopy or microfluidics. Benefits include flexible hybrid working arrangements, generous leave, and family allowances.

Qualifications

• At least one original publication in a peer‑reviewed journal.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and independence in research.
• Compliance with MSCA mobility rule.

Responsabilités

• Develop and refine sample preparation workflows for microbial cryo‑tomography.
• Conduct high‑throughput imaging of diverse microorganisms.
• Publish results in peer‑reviewed journals.

Connaissances

Cryo-electron microscopy

Microfluidics

Research independence

Problem-solving

Formation

PhD obtained within the last eight years

Description du poste

EMBL is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome. Our mission is to perform basic research in molecular biology; train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; offer vital services to scientists in the public and private sectors within the member states; develop new instruments and methods; and engage actively in technology transfer.

This post-doctoral position is part of the EU co-fund research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, which will address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organization, and is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

AMBER is funded by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme. Around 8 postdocs will be recruited in the Final call with each fellowship lasting 36 months. AMBER has six core partners: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden; the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden; the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL); Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France; the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines (IMOL), Poland; and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.

Your role

Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) enables the visualization of cellular ultrastructure in a near-native state and provides structural information in situ, making it a powerful discovery tool for microbial cell biology. However, its application to a large variety of species in a high-throughput manner is hindered by the fact that sample preparation, i.e. vitrification and thinning by focused ion beam (FIB) milling, must be adapted for each sample type. A second major bottleneck is the limited number of samples that can be processed per experiment. Recent methodological advancements, such as micropatterning of grids and serial-lift out cryo-FIB-SEM, have greatly increased the throughput for mammalian cells and tissues. Similar technological breakthroughs are absent for bacteria, archaea and microbial eukaryotes.

This project will address these challenges by developing next‑generation sample preparation workflows that standardize vitrification across diverse microbial species and enable multiplexed preparation of different samples on a single EM grid. To this end we propose to integrate microfluidic encapsulation of microbes with jet vitrification and correlational cryoFIB/ET imaging. The resulting workflow would allow high‑throughput processing of phylogenetically and physiologically diverse microbes in a multiplexed manner, enabling comparative studies of cellular architecture at scale.

Responsibilities

As a postdoctoral fellow you will:

• Develop and refine sample preparation workflows for microbial cryo‑tomography.
• Integrate microfluidic encapsulation, jet vitrification, and cryo‑FIB/ET imaging techniques.
• Conduct high‑throughput imaging of diverse microorganisms.
• Analyze and interpret data to produce comparative cellular architecture insights.
• Publish results in peer‑reviewed journals and present at scientific conferences.
• Collaborate with core partners and contribute to the AMBER consortium.

Qualifications

• PhD obtained within the last eight years.
• At least one original publication in a peer‑reviewed journal.
• Background in cryo‑electron microscopy, microfluidics, or related methods.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and independence in research.
• Compliance with MSCA mobility rule: researcher must not have resided or carried out main activity in the host organisation’s country for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the call deadline.

Contract length

3 years

Benefits

• Monthly family and child allowances, generous annual stipend review, pension scheme, death benefit, and unemployment insurance.
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements.
• Private medical insurance for the fellow and immediate family.
• 30 days annual leave plus public holidays.
• Campus life: shuttle bus (Heidelberg), on‑site library, subsidised cafeteria, casual dress code, sports and social club activities (on‑campus and remotely).
• Family benefits: kindergarten (Heidelberg), child sick leave, paid maternity & parental leave, holiday clubs, and monthly family and child allowances.

Location

All fellowships are based on‑site (at least part of each week). For overseas candidates, a generous relocation package will be provided.

Closing date: 24/08/2026