The Biozentrum of the University of Basel is one of the world's leading life sciences institutes. With 33 research groups and 500 employees, we are a dynamic and international research community that has spawned many fundamental discoveries in biology and medicine as well as several Nobel laureates. Join our community!
The research group of Prof. Knut Drescher at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel seeks to appoint a PhD student in molecular microbiology, biochemistry and protein design, with a focus on the development of biosensors for antibiotics. The position is available immediately or by mutual agreement.
The project
As part of the Swiss National Competence Center in Research (NCCR) “AntiResist”, we develop new approaches to overcome the global antibiotic resistance crisis. To understand why antibiotics sometimes fail to treat bacterial infections, it is critical to measure the local concentration of antibiotics at the site of infection. We recently developed the first allosteric biosensors for antibiotics, which enabled us to perform real-time measurements of antibiotic concentrations with high spatial and temporal resolution at the site of bacterial infections (bioRxiv manuscript 2026). However, using the method we used in our previous study, we could only obtain biosensors for two classes of antibiotics. We now aim to extend this breakthrough by developing biosensors for all major classes of antibiotics using protein design and protein engineering. This project combines computational and experimental approaches to design biosensor candidates and transform them into fully functional biosensors in bacterial cells. Additionally, we will apply the newly developed biosensors for measuring antibiotic concentration dynamics inside bacterial cells in infection biology assays, ranging from biofilm treatment to stem-cell-derived organoids and bioengineered tissue infection systems.
To get an overview of our lab's recent projects, take a look at our publications: https://drescherlab.org/publications.html
Your profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join our lab. Required qualification: A Master's degree with a research thesis in molecular microbiology, protein biochemistry, protein design, or a discipline that is related to the proposed PhD project.
We offer you
Application / Contact
Application deadline: 20 August 2026.
Application submission form: https://biped.biozentrum.unibas.ch/apply/phd-antibiotic-biosensor-protein-engineering
Please note that only applications through the online form linked above will be accepted.
The application form requires a brief statement of your research experience and your particular interest in this open position. In addition, a CV and the contact information of two references are required.
For any informal enquiries, please contact: knut.drescher@unibas.ch
