Alex Persat

This postdoctoral project at EPFL is based in the laboratory of Prof. Alex Persat in the School of Life Sciences. The position focuses on building a new image-based drug screening platform to identify compounds active against major gram-negative bacterial pathogens , including Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The researcher will design and implement a microscopy-based phenotypic screening workflow that combines live imaging , high-content screening , and single-cell/single-bacterium resolution . A major goal is to develop assays that can distinguish different phenotypes associated with compound activity, such as growth inhibition, biofilm or attachment disruption, and effects on membrane integrity. The role also involves developing or adapting image analysis and quantification pipelines, with AI support, to manage screen-scale datasets. Screening hits will be followed up to determine their molecular targets or mechanisms of action using genetic, chemical-biology, or biophysical approaches, drawing on expertise within the lab and the broader research environment. The successful candidate will work closely with the group’s discovery and design efforts, including natural products and AI-enabled molecular design, so that prioritised targets and hits can feed back into upstream compound design. The platform will be applied both in standard culture and, in collaboration with other lab members, in the group’s organoid and tissue-engineered infection models for airway and gut systems, with the aim of prioritising physiologically relevant hits. The post includes opportunities to contribute to method development, data management, grant reporting, and co-supervision of PhD students. It is also embedded in the NCCR AntiResist consortium, giving access to a wider network of antimicrobial resistance researchers across Switzerland.