A real-time monitoring system of airborne norovirus

At the MeBioS division of the University of Leuven a PhD position is available for a motivated researcher interested in bionanotechnology

A real-time monitoring system of airborne norovirus

The fundamental research activities of the MeBioS-Biosensor group (www.biosensors.be) focus on the development of novel bio-molecular detection concepts and miniaturized analysis systems. The applications span a broad range of sectors including food and medical diagnostics. The MeBioS-Biosensor group closely follows the emerging field of biosensing and is active in the following domains (i) Bio-assay development (e.g., aptamers, biofunctionalized nanomaterials), (ii) Optical sensors (e.g., fiber optic SPR sensors) (iii) Microfluidics (e.g., lab-on-a-chip technology).
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Project

Gastroenteritis, caused by the Norovirus, is the third most deadly infectious disease worldwide, infecting about 4% of the worldwide population annually, with an important cost on society related to economical loss. The general goal of this project is to exploit state-of-the-art in micro- and nanotechnologies for airborne virus sensing and create the first-of-its-kind platform for online monitoring of airborne Norovirus in public places (such as hospitals, schools, public transport, etc). The final instrument will resemble standard smoke-detector that can over perform central-lab based epidemic monitoring tools in speed and cost while featuring higher sensitivity and specificity than similar lab-on-a-chip solutions. This research is a part of a multipartner EU project in which collaborations have been already established.

The specific objective of the PhD project is the development of a bioassay for the detection of Norovirus with higher specificity and sensitivity than existing technologies. The detection of Norovirus will be built on a combination of state-of-the-art nanobiotechnologies that will comprise the following topics: (a) Selection of aptamer biorecognition elements against human noroviral-like particles, (b) Sensor surface functionalization, (c) Development of a highly specific bio-assay, (d) Development of multiplexing strategies towards general platform for detecting different noroviral strains and other viruses

Profile

We are looking for a highly motivated, communicative researcher with a Master degree in Bioscience Engineering, Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, (Bio)nanotechnology, Biosciences or equivalent. Motivation letter, C.V. and names of two referees should be submitted to: jeroen.lammertyn@biw.kuleuven.be. This project is a collaboration between the MeBioS Biosensor group, Dept. Biosystems (Prof. Jeroen Lammertyn) and several European academic and industrial academic partners

Offer

PhD project for 4 years at KU Leuven

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Jeroen Lammertyn, tel.: +32 16 3 21459, mail: jeroen.lammertyn@biw.kuleuven.be.

You can apply for this job no later than October 15, 2013 via the online application tool