A view to a kill. Using cutting edge microscopy to study predatory bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is receiving increasing attention, and the EPSRC highlight the need to draw on engineering and physical sciences capabilities in order to accelerate therapeutic and diagnostic development to counter this phenomenon. A
radical new therapy involves the clinical application of (non-pathogenic) predatory bacteria that can rapidly destroy their pathogenic relatives, including multi-antibiotic resistant strains impervious to other treatments. This project will use cutting-edge optical microscopy to find out how the predators locate their prey, and how they attach to and enter the prey cells. The longer-term goal, beyond this project, is to develop new therapeutic interventions.
To collect relevant experimental data, the student will develop and improve optical microscopy methods, including high-speed holographic microscopy and TIRF microscopy. Bacteria are thought to undergo a Brownian random walk in order to search out nutrients in the wild. The data analysis section of the project will draw on this statistical physics framework to assess whether the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus follows a similar paradigm, and if so, how it modifies its behaviour in the presence of prey organisms.
This project fits the EPSRC theme of healthcare technologies, the cross-council initiative on anti-microbial resistance, and the EPSRC grand challenge of 'Understanding the Physics of Life'. The project will involve digital signal processing and will develop imaging/analysis tools that are also applicable to synthetic biology. The latter in particular is highlighted for growth in EPSRC's portfolio.