PhD Position 1: Experimental Microbial Ecology and Biosignatures  (UNIL - SUPSI)

This project, under the supervision of Alice Bosco Santos (UNIL) and Nicola Storelli (SUPSI) will investigate how microbial interactions influence the formation and preservation of biosignatures. The student will combine laboratory experiments, cultivation of environmental microorganisms, microbial ecology, geochemistry, and multi-omics approaches to explore the mechanisms linking microbial processes to biosignature formation. 

Potential topics include:

• Microbial interactions and syntrophy

• Virus-host interactions

• Sulfur and iron biogeochemistry

• Experimental biosignature formation

• Environmental microbiology and astrobiology

 PhD Position 2: Quantitative Biosignatures and Statistical Biophysics (UNIL - EPFL)

This interdisciplinary project, co-supervised with the Institute of Physics (EPFL - Prof. Paolo De Los Rios), will investigate how biological interactions shape biosignatures through quantitative and theoretical approaches. The student will develop computational and statistical frameworks to understand the emergence, evolution, and detectability of biosignatures across scales.

Potential topics include:

• Host-virus coevolution

• Evolution of metabolic innovation

• Network analysis and complex systems

• Statistical physics of microbial ecosystems

• Quantitative models of biosignature formation and detectability