Postdoc researcher - Innovative sensor for early stage detection of neurodegenerative diseases

The candidate will be in charge of the development of the microfluidic system (design and manufacturing), the chemical treatment of surfaces and the immobilization of biological probes (antibodies, aptamer...). Finally, he (she) will test and validate the measurement system (biosensors) for well-defined solutions and real samples as well. He (She) will work closely with the members of the teams composing the MolPro2Biosens project consortium.

With increasing life expectancy, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease are expected to affect an ever increasing number of people, potentially putting severe strain on healthcare systems around the world. Although biomarkers of such diseases can be detected from blood or cerebrospinal fluids, their detection just help to confirm a diagnosis already made by doctors. In this extent, these diseases are challenging in term of diagnostic because of our inability to access and monitor the progression of diseases affecting the brain functions. Recently, it was shown that the gastrointestinal tract and its innervation are not only affected by these neurodegenerative diseases but play a crucial part in them. The compelling corollary is that the enteric nervous system could serve as a surrogate to track brain diseases in their early stage, and that because the gastrointestinal tract is much easier to access than the brain,this opens up a new perspective even for routine screening procedures using stool samples or minimal invasive mucous biopsies. Still, such an approach will require extremely sensitive and robust molecular detection methodologies adapted to various biomarkers.

As part of a Franco-German project (ANR PRCI MolPro2Biosens), we aim to use a combination of molecular programming, microfluidics, surface chemistry and nano-electronics to develop a novel early detection system tailored to neuro-degenerative diseases.

The Researcher candidate will work in close collaboration with the team at ESPCI on molecular programs, our German partners working on nanosensors in RWTH (Aachen) and our neuro-diseases experts in University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. He (She) will handle the microfluidics and surface biochemistry part of the project as well as validate the overall mixed sensing concept.
IEMN is a research institute created by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), two universities and an Engineer school of France northern region. IEMN equipment for design, fabrication and characterization of micro/nano devices are at the best European level. The institute has a total staff of about 500 persons including 109 professors and associate professors, 45 CNRS researchers, 100 engineers and administrative agents, about 150 PhD students as well as 30 non permanent researchers and invited professors. The lab is very open to international collaborations; more than 100 foreigner scientists coming from 20 different countries are currently working at IEMN. The IEMN scientific activity covers a large domain going from the physics of materials and nanostructures to microwaves, telecommunications and acoustics instrumentation.

The candidate will work between 2 IEMN research groups: the BioMEMS group and the NanoBiointerfaces group in a conducive context to scientific discussions.

Travels between IEMN and Aachen are planned in particular through the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) exchange program.

The project presented here is very interdisciplinary as it sits between system chemistry, biochemistry, nanotechnology, microfluidics. We are thus looking for candidate with both strong academic records and the interest and drive to work on such a challenging project. The candidate must have expertise in biochemistry/chemistry, particularly in surface chemistry (e.g. biological probe immobilization strategies (antibodies, aptamers, etc.), an expertise in micro-nanofabrication and microfluidics, as well as electrical measurement skills. A good level of English is also recommended.