{"id":7859,"date":"2026-05-21T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/?p=7859"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:34:05","slug":"phd-position-at","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/2026\/05\/21\/phd-position-at\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD position in droplet-based microfluidics for biological & environmental applications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PhD candidate will join the 5-year \u201cEcoDropLab\u201d project, which focuses on developing a sustainable and  accessible droplet-based microfluidics platform for biological and environmental research, with a particular  focus on microplastic-related microbial processes. This includes studying how microplastics influence  bacterial aggregation, biofilm formation, and antimicrobial resistance, as well as enabling screening of  antimicrobial and antibiofilm compounds. The project combines a wide range of approaches, including  droplet-based microfluidic workflows, 3D-printed lab-on-a-chip systems, experimental work in biology and  chemistry, microscopy-based analysis, and materials science aspects related to microplastics and device  development. Within this framework, the candidate will contribute to selected aspects of the project and have  the opportunity to shape their research direction based on their background and interests. The candidate will  work in an interdisciplinary environment combining microbiology, chemistry, engineering, and materials  science, collaborating across departments and with international partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this PhD project is to contribute to the development and application of a sustainable and\u00a0 accessible droplet-based microfluidic platform for biological and environmental research. This includes work\u00a0 on microfluidic workflows, lab-on-a-chip system development, and related experimental and materials\u00a0 components, with applications in microbial and environmental processes. This PhD position is offered by the\u00a0 Microfluidics Lab at the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at TalTech<\/a>, in close collaboration with the Lab-on-a-Chip group at the Thomas Johann Seebeck\u00a0 Department of Electronics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prospective PhD project encompasses several research directions, and the specific focus will be defined  based on the candidate\u2019s background and interests. Potential direction include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2022 Development of droplet-based microfluidic workflows for biological and environmental studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Investigation of antimicrobial and antibiofilm compounds using droplet-based microfluidics <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Design and development of 3D-printed lab-on-a-chip devices and their integration into workflows <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Working with materials science aspects related to microplastics and microfluidic device development\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Droplet-based microfluidic applications are rapidly expanding in biological and environmental research.  Encapsulation of samples into microdroplets enables high-throughput, parallelized, and confined analysis of  complex systems, surpassing conventional methods such as flasks, petri dishes, and microtiter plates. This  approach is particularly promising for studying complex microbial and environmental processes, including  those involving microplastics, where reproducibility, environmental relevance, and standardization remain  key challenges. Current approaches are often low-throughput and lack integrated, flexible tools for such  studies. At the same time, many microfluidic platforms rely on non-sustainable materials and require  specialized expertise, limiting their accessibility. There is therefore a need for sustainable, standardized, and  user-friendly microfluidic platforms that support robust and broadly applicable research across disciplines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsibilities and (foreseen) tasks\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the project framework, the PhD candidate will contribute to a range of research activities, with the  exact focus shaped by their background and interests. Potential key activities include: \u2022 Working on droplet-based microfluidic workflows for biological and environmental research \u2022 Participating in experimental work, including laboratory-based studies and microfluidic assays \u2022 Supporting the screening and evaluation of antimicrobial and antibiofilm compounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2022 Contributing to the design and development of lab-on-a-chip systems, including 3D-printed devices <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Working with materials science related to microplastics and microfluidic device development <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Analyzing and interpreting experimental data, including microscopy imaging and related analysis\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Additional responsibilities include<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Contributing to scientific publications and dissemination of results (e.g. international conferences,  outreach activities) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Assisting in supervision of bachelor and master students and contributing to teaching activities \u2022 Collaborating with researchers across disciplines and partner institutions <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applicants should fulfil the following requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2022 A master\u2019s degree in a relevant field (e.g. biotechnology, microbiology, chemistry, materials science, or  a related discipline) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Experience with basic laboratory work and experimental techniques <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Clear interest in the highly interdisciplinary research topic of the position <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Ability to work both independently and as part of an international and collaborative research team \u2022 Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving skills <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Good written and oral communication skills in English <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following experience is beneficial, but not expected: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Experience with microfluidics (especially droplet-based systems) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Background in biofilm research, antimicrobial resistance, and\/or microplastic-related studies \u2022 Experience with 3D printing, materials science, or device fabrication <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Experience with microscopy and\/or image analysis <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Experience with data analysis or basic programming skills <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We offer\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2022 4-year PhD position in a leading technological research University in Estonia that is also its most  international university <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Opportunities for conference visits, research stays and interdisciplinary networking with international  collaborators <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 We offer a starting salary package with 23000 EUR\/year gross, with potential for increase depending on  performance <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Position comes with full social and medical benefits in Estonia <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

About the department\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology (DCB) is developing solutions to the great challenges of  the 21st century \u2013 climate change, environmental protection, carbon neutrality, renewable energy and  biodiversity conservation. DCB has offered high level interdisciplinary research training in the field for over  100 years. The department has long history in providing hands-on education in the fields of chemistry,  biotechnology, gene technology and food sciences  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact and application information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application deadline: 30th <\/sup>of June 2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please send following application data in a single pdf to simona.bartkova@taltech.ee I) CV, II) Motivation letter, including proposed PhD project directions <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS! Combined pdf file cannot exceed 3 A4 pages, longer applications will not be considered<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary\u00a0 The PhD candidate will join the 5-year \u201cEcoDropLab\u201d project, which focuses on developing a sustainable and  accessible droplet-based microfluidics platform for biological and environmental research, with a particular  focus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7859"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7867,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7859\/revisions\/7867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lgr.upol.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}