- JOB
- Poland
2 Jun 2026
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Department
- Team 3 International Centre for Transational Eye Research
- Research Field
- Biological sciences » BiodiversityBiological sciences » BiologyChemistry » Computational chemistryTechnology » BiotechnologyPhysics » Mathematical physicsPhysics » Statistical physicsPhysics » Biophysics
- Researcher Profile
- Recognised Researcher (R2)
- Positions
- Postdoc Positions
- Application Deadline
- Country
- Poland
- Type of Contract
- Temporary
- Job Status
- Full-time
- Hours Per Week
- 40
- Offer Starting Date
- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
- Not funded by a EU programme
- Reference Number
- 34/2026
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
- No
Offer Description
Post-doc position available in the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS within National Science Center (NSC) We seek a highly motivated and enthusiastic Postdoctoral Researcher to join our group at ICTER IPC PAS The position inlclude work upon project entitled “Ultra-high-throughput multimodal single-microbe profiling to study microbiomes”, financed by the NCN (National Science Centre). Our research focuses on single-cell genomics, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. The project involves transcriptomic and genomic profiling of single microbes. The post-doc will work on machine and deep learning methods for analyzing the heterogeneity of microbiota and inferring activities of biological pathways.
The Institute provides an international and interdisciplinary research environment.
Details about the project:
Leader dr Marcin Tabaka
Microbes inhabit almost every part of the human body, living for example in gut, on the eye and skin in the total number of dozens of trillions of cells. Estimates suggest there are more than ten thousand bacterial species living in the human body, forming a complex community called the microbiome. This number is constantly being refined as researchers discover new species. On the other site, the total number of bacterial species living on Earth is estimated to be over 1 trillion. However, only about 660,000 species have their genome determined i.e. 99.99993% bacterial species remain undiscovered. The microbiome, particularly the gut microbiome, plays a surprisingly vast role in our overall health. The gut microbiome helps break down food, allowing us to absorb nutrients effectively; helps regulate the immune system, fighting off harmful bacteria and prevents inflammation. Emerging research suggests the gut microbiome might influence brain function and mental health through a complex gut-brain connection. On the other site, An imbalance in the gut microbiome has been linked to various health conditions, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers. The relationship between the microbiome and obesity is complex. Obese individuals tend to have a different gut microbiome makeup compared to lean people. This often includes lower bacterial diversity and a shift in the ratio of certain types of bacteria. Moreover, the gut microbiome plays a role in regulating how our body extracts energy from food. Some gut bacteria are more efficient at extracting calories. While the exact cause-and-effect relationship with obesity is being explored, understanding this connection paves the way for potential future interventions. We plan to develop a powerful new tool that can examine each individual bacterium in a community, like the gut microbiome. This tool would look at both the bacteria's DNA (its blueprint) and its active genes (like the instructions being used). We're developing this tool by combining cutting-edge techniques in chemistry, physics, and genetics. Here's how it works: We can analyze hundreds of thousands of bacteria at once, like taking a giant fingerprint of their DNA and genes. We use special labels to track each bacterium and sequence its entire genetic code, along with which genes are turned on. This allows us to see not only what kind of bacteria are present (species level) but also what each individual bacterium is doing (cell state level). This technology will be a game changer for understanding the microbiome. It's like creating detailed maps of healthy and diseased microbiomes, revealing not only the composition of the microbiome but also which biological or to be more specific metabolic pathways are affected in disease conditions. This knowledge could lead to new treatments. Before we unleash this new methodology on real gut microbiomes, we need to make sure it works! We'll start by testing it on bacteria we already understand well. We will compare the results our method gives us with existing information from other studies that looked at single bacteria RNA molecules or how well we are in reconstructing known bacterial genomes. Once we're confident our tool is accurate, we will use it to study the gut microbiome We're particularly interested in how these bacteria changes in shifts of Western diet. Currently, there is a worldwide rise in the popularity of the so-called Western diet, which is a high-fat diet high in saturated fatty acids of animal origin, simple sugars and salt. The consequence of consuming a Westerntype diet is a sharp increase in obesity and its consequences known as metabolic syndrome. The goal of the project is to demonstrate that changing dietary habits by partially replacing animal fats with various vegetable oils in a Western-type diet can be beneficiary for maintaining the healthy microbiome and to understand the microbiome dynamics at longitudinal studies. In addition, we will develop a new computational workflow for preprocessing and analysis of raw data generated in the project. The focus will be put on annotation, reconstruction, identification of the genome and characterization of cell states for each bacterial species. In addition, we will leverage a deep learning approach a powerful artificial intelligence technique to analyze the complex interactions between the products of bacteria's genes. This will help us understand the biological pathways active within each single cell, essentially figuring out what overall processes are happening inside each bacterium. The method will be validated extensively in multiple experiments on model bacteria.
Where to apply
- rekrutacja@ichf.edu.pl
Requirements
- Research Field
- Biological sciences » Other
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- Strong Background in statistics and deep learning;
- Excellent programming skills in python;
- Familiarity with Unix command-line tools;
- Excellent communication and organizational skills;
- Ability to work independently and interact effectively in an interdisciplinary team;
- Proficiency in English, both spoken and written
Specific Requirements
Ph.D. degree in Math, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science or related quantitative discipline
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Level
- Excellent
- Research Field
- Biological sciences » Other
- Years of Research Experience
- 4 - 10
Additional Information
Benefits
We offer a post-doctoral position (full-time employment) in the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS with a gross salary of Around 11000 PLN gross
per month financed from the NCN OPUS 28
100% of the work time of Postdoc will be devoted to the realization of the proposed project. The offer is for 6 months with possible extension
The successful candidate will be eligible for all programs at the IPC PAS, including the IPC PAS Young Scientists competition and the IPC PAS Young Scientists Mobility competition.
Institute provides an opportunity to participate in ERASMUS+ programme.
Eligibility criteria
- Ph.D. degree in Math, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science or related quantitative discipline
- Strong Background in statistics and deep learning
- Excellent programming skills in python
- Familiarity with Unix command-line tools
- Excellent communication and organizational skills
- Ability to work independently and interact effectively in an interdisciplinary team
- Proficiency in English, both spoken and written
- A post-doc type post is a full-time post, scheduled by the project’s principal investigator for a person who has been conferred a PhD degree in the year of employment in the project or within 12 years before 1st January of the year of employment in the project (for researchers with multiple PhDs, the date of the first PhD award is deemed the reference date). This period may be extended by a time of long-term (in excess of 90 days) documented sick leaves or rehabilitation leaves granted on account of being unfit to work. In addition, the period may be extended by the number of months of a child care leave granted pursuant to the Labour Code and in the case of women, by 18 months for every child born or adopted, whichever manner of accounting for career breaks is preferable.
- Additionally, the candidate for the postdoctoral position must meet the following condition:
a) has obtained a doctoral degree from an entity other than the entity where employment in this position is planned, or has completed at least a 10- month, continuous, and documented postdoctoral fellowship in an entity other than the entity carrying out the project and in a country other than the country where the doctoral degree was obtained;
b) will be employed for a period of no less than 6 months;
c) during the period of receiving this remuneration, will not receive any other remuneration from funds allocated as direct costs of research projects financed under NCN competitions;
d) during the period of receiving this remuneration, will not receive remuneration from another employer under an employment contract, including an employer based outside Poland;
e) during the period of receiving this remuneration, will not receive retirement benefits from the social security system.
Selection process
The Commission will take into account the following criteria and evaluate applications on a point scale:
· Competence for specific tasks in a research project;
· Previous scientific achievements (publication record);
· Candidate’s own initiative in research projects.
Required documents :
· scientific curriculum vitae, including a list of scientific achievements (scholarships, publications, patents, conference presentations, etc.);
· motivation letter;
· a scan of the PhD diploma or other document confirming PhD degree
The application deadline is on the
22.06.2026 , 12:00 noon
Applications should be sent to rekrutacja@ichf.edu.pl. IMPORTANT! email subject: “Recruitment no 34/2026 ” (emails without this number will not be considered)
• Top candidates can be invited for an online or in-person interview (25-26.06.2026). We reserve the right to contact and reply to only selected candidates.
• The position will be offered to the person with the highest evaluation by the Recruitment Committee.
• The results of the recruitment are planned to be announced on the 3.07.2026.
• Employment will take place in accordance with the provisions of the competition documentation of the National Science Center (NSC) for the OPUS 28
and Employment policy of the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS https://ichf.edu.pl/files/csr/ipc-procedures.pdf .
• The incomplete applications may not be considered
• The results of the competition are made public.
• Candidates who have been issued a negative opinion by the Competition Committee or candidates not selected for employment have the right to appeal against the results of the evaluation. The appeal shall be lodged with the Director of the Institute within 7 days from the date of receipt of the appropriate information. The decision of the Director of the Institute shall be final.
Appeals should be sent to the following email address: dzgran@ichf.edu.pl.
• If the top candidate does not sign the contract due to the resignation, we reserve the right to choose the next candidate from the ranking list.
Additional comments
By submitting the application you consent to the processing of your personal data in the recruitment process.
The controller of your personal data is the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences with its registered office in Warsaw, NIP: 5250008755 (the "Institute"). The Institute will process your data for the purpose of carrying out scientific and research activities, providing services and contact with the Institute, on the basis of a contract (in connection with the performance of the contract or in order to take action on your request before the contract is concluded – Article 6, paragraph 1, letter b) of GDPR), the legitimate interest of the Institute (Article 6, paragraph 1, letter f) of the GDPR) and legal provisions (Article 6, paragraph 1, letter c) of the GDPR) - depending on the circumstances.
You have the right to: request access to your data, receive a copy of it; rectify (correct) it; delete it; limit its processing; transfer it; lodge a complaint to the supervisory body; withdraw your consent for processing at any time (withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out prior to its withdrawal) or to lodge an objection to data processing. More information is available on the Institute's website.
https://ichf.edu.pl/theme/ichf/pliki/RODO_klauzula_informacyjna.pdf
Procedure for Reporting Internal Violations of the Law and Subsequent Actions together with Protection of Whistleblowers at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the PAS with its registered address in Warsaw (link)
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences
- Country
- Poland
- City
- Warsaw
- Postal Code
- 01-224
- Street
- Kasprzaka 44/52
- Geofield
Contact
- City
- Warsaw
- Website
- Street
- Warsaw, Kasprzaka 44/52
- Postal Code
- PL-01-224
- mtabaka@ichf.edu.pl
- Mobile Phone
- +48 798 055 335