Bacterial electrophysiology for diagnosis and modulation of cell vitality

"Recent advances in systems biology, synthetic biology, and physical biology have begun to highlight the significant importance of non-genetic factors in regulation and signalling of cells. It is increasingly recognised that cell physiology works in conjunction with gene-regulation in most biological processes. For many biological processes, analysis of genes is not sufficient to gain full understanding and rationale engineering of biological systems. Consideration of physiological dynamics is crucial for biotechnology and fundamental understanding of cells. However, our understanding of cell physiology is still falling behind molecular investigations, in part due to difficulties of determining the physiological states of cells.
This project aims to increase our understanding of cell physiology by establishing methods for characterising the physiological states of cells and controlling cell growth using electrical stimulation. We aim to improve characterisation of electrically induced membrane potential dynamics, as well as to investigate the potential for modulation of growth rate and antimicrobial tolerance by electrical stimulation."