Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics

The D'Souza Lab at Arizona State University seeks a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Scholar to join an interdisciplinary research program focused on microbial ecology, molecular biology, bacterial interactions, and the spatial organization of microbial communities. The lab studies how bacteria compete, cooperate, and evolve in structured environments, with a particular emphasis on Type VI secretion system-mediated antagonism, Vibrio ecology, microfluidics, quantitative microscopy, mutant construction, and single-cell analysis.

The successful candidate will develop and lead research projects investigating how bacterial interactions shape community structure, growth dynamics, ecological outcomes, and evolutionary trajectories. The position will involve a combination of molecular biology, bacterial genetics, wet-lab microbiology, experimental design, microscopy-based assays, image and data analysis, manuscript preparation, and collaboration with lab members and external collaborators.

The appointment will provide opportunities for scientific independence, professional development, fellowship and grant writing, manuscript preparation, conference presentations, and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students. The position is well suited for a researcher interested in combining molecular genetics, microbial ecology, quantitative imaging, and experimental approaches to understand how microbes interact in complex and spatially structured environments.

Essential Duties:

• Design and conduct experiments on microbial interactions, bacterial competition, community ecology, and microbial evolution.

• Perform molecular biology and bacterial genetics techniques, including:

• Mutant construction and validation

• Gene deletions and knockouts

• Fluorescent reporter and complemented strain development

• Carry out molecular biology workflows:

• PCR, cloning, plasmid construction

• Gibson/HiFi assembly

• Bacterial transformation and conjugation

• Colony screening, sequencing verification, and strain archiving

• Culture and manipulate Vibrio and other bacterial species using standard microbiological techniques.

• Design and perform:

• Bacterial competition and growth assays

• Fluorescence reporter assays

• Mutant phenotyping experiments

• Microscopy-based assays to study bacterial interactions

• Conduct microfluidic experiments and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to analyze single-cell and community behavior.

• Analyze microscopy, growth, competition, and other quantitative datasets.

• Maintain accurate laboratory records, including protocols, strains, plasmids, freezer stocks, and datasets.

• Contribute to manuscripts, figures, presentations, fellowship applications, and grant reports.

• Present research findings at lab meetings, seminars, and scientific conferences.

• Collaborate with research team members and external partners.

• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students and research staff.

• Support lab operations, including organization, safety, equipment maintenance, and protocol development.