News (July 07, 2008): Postdoc position with Suckjoon Jun

The mission of our lab is to understand the general, fundamental principles in biology using both physical and biological approaches. We are particularly interested in bacterial cell cycle, and our focus so far has been on bacterial chromosome segregation -- one of the basic, and yet unsolved, problems in biology. On the theoretical side, we have shown that physical properties of the bacterial chromosomes and the shape of the cell (e.g., rod-shaped cell of E.coli) are intimately linked to provide a basic driving force of segregation; whereas low-copy number plasmids will require active segregation mechanisms due to their small sizes, which provides a natural evolutionary arguement of segregation strategies based on the size of the genome (e.g., chromosome vs. plasmid; physical vs. biological).

On the experimental end, together with Nancy Kleckner's laboratory also at Harvard, we have developed a micropiston system to isolate and manipulate chromosomes by bringing together microfluidics, single- molecule manipulation and imaging techniques. We are currently conducting several exciting experiments, in the hope to use our micropiston system as an "artificial cell" to simulate in vivo situations. Examples of our current experiments include, but not limited to, (a) pushing ("piston") and pulling of single and multiple, fluorescently labeled chromosomes (b) in vitro replication of isolated chromosomes.

To go beyond our (physical) in vitro studies, we have also developed microfluidic continuous culture device (aka "micro-chemostat"), which allows us to follow over 10,000 individual cells for an arbitrary number of cell generations. In our device, we can apply a wide range of techniques such as Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH), Fluorescence Repressor Operator System (FROS), phase and DIC microscopy at 100x resolution. Since the growth of the individual cells in steady state is continuously monitored, our device does not require any synchronized cell populations. Moreover, lineage information (pedigree) of the entire population of the cells can be automatically extracted in our device.

Although there are many obvious applications of our micro-chemostat -- from switching and phenotypic variability to aging (senescence) -- our objective is to unravel how the physical properties of the chromosome may trigger decisions governing major events in the bacterial cell cycle, namely "casualty," and vice versa. Indeed, it is this second theme, which we would like a new post-doc contribute to. However, we are also open to the ideas from our post-docs.

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We welcome post-doc applications from any disciplines in quantitive sciences. An ideal candidate will fall into one of the two categories:

1. An experimentalist with experiences in single-molecule techniques and microscopy with quantitative image analysis, who understands statistical physics and control theory with an ability for modeling. Excellent programming skills (e.g., LabView, COMSOL, C/C++, Java) are highly desirable. Previous exposure to biology is a plus but not required. However, s/he must be exceptionally motivated to learn and excel in biology.

2. A theoretician who has excelled in his or her own field (e.g., physics, chemistry, engineering or computer science), who is stongly committed to take the challenge of learning experiments and uncover fundamental principles in biology. We will help the person learn biology and provide any necessary experimental and intellectual resources. In addition, we will help the candidate write a fellowship application.

In both cases, we expect the candidate to have an analytical and quantitative mindset and be resourceful, with the intellectual ability to ask the right questions in biology, and a strong motivation to do whatever will take to answer the question.

Application should include (1) Curriculum Vitae (2) Research Statement which describes the applicant's past experiences and why she or he is interested in this position (3) Name and contact information of at least three references. Importantly, we are also open to research projects proposed by the applicant, and the applicant is encouraged, although not required, to communicate with us about her or his own ideas. This may help us understand the applicant's level of enthusiasm and understanding in research. Application should be sent by email (sjun_at_cgr.harvard.edu).

For more information, see http://www.sysbio.harvard.edu/csb/jun/index.html

Harvard University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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