{"id":12445,"date":"2026-09-30T15:40:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/?post_type=job_listing&#038;p=12445"},"modified":"2026-09-30T15:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:40:04","slug":"phd-position-on-nanozyme-based-coating-for-antimicrobial-implants-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"job_listing","link":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/job\/phd-position-on-nanozyme-based-coating-for-antimicrobial-implants-switzerland\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD Position on Nanozyme-Based Coating for Antimicrobial Implants &#8211; Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Organization:<\/strong> Empa \u2013 Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology<\/p>\n<p><strong>Laboratory:<\/strong> Nanomaterials in Health Lab<\/p>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong> St. Gallen, Switzerland<\/p>\n<p><strong>Position:<\/strong> PhD Position on Nanozyme-Based Coating for Antimicrobial Implants<\/p>\n<p><strong>Research Network:<\/strong> Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Doctoral Network \u2013 Implant-to-Market (i2M)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supervisor:<\/strong> Dr. Giacomo Reina<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joint Affiliation:<\/strong> ETH Z\u00fcrich, D-HEST, under the supervision of Prof. Peter Wick<\/p>\n<h3>Project Overview<\/h3>\n<p>Empa is offering a PhD position in the Nanomaterials in Health Lab focused on the development of nanozyme-based coatings for antimicrobial medical implants.<\/p>\n<p>The project is part of the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Doctoral Network <strong>Implant-to-Market (i2M)<\/strong>, which provides an international and interdisciplinary research and training environment connecting materials science, biology, medical devices and regulatory science.<\/p>\n<p>The research will focus on developing stimuli-responsive nanozyme coatings for personalised medical implants. Nanozymes are nanomaterials capable of mimicking the catalytic activity of natural enzymes and can be engineered to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) locally and in a controlled manner.<\/p>\n<p>The project aims to investigate nanozyme materials, implant surface coatings and their interactions with biological systems, with particular emphasis on antimicrobial activity, biocompatibility and implant-related biological responses.<\/p>\n<h3>Key Responsibilities<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Design and synthesise nanozymes and optimise their physicochemical and catalytic properties.<\/li>\n<li>Develop reproducible approaches for integrating nanozymes onto implant surfaces.<\/li>\n<li>Investigate the compatibility of nanozyme coatings with different implant architectures and surface modifications.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate the antimicrobial performance of nanozyme-coated surfaces.<\/li>\n<li>Investigate the ability of coated surfaces to inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm formation.<\/li>\n<li>Study nano\u2013bio interactions associated with nanozyme-coated implants.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate cellular responses, including cytocompatibility and macrophage activation.<\/li>\n<li>Investigate cytokine production and biological parameters relevant to osseointegration.<\/li>\n<li>Study the stability, ageing and biodegradation of low-dimensional nanozyme coatings in biologically relevant fluids.<\/li>\n<li>Analyse experimental results and contribute to scientific publications and presentations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Required Qualifications<\/h3>\n<p>Applicants should have:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A completed Master&#8217;s degree in Biomaterials, Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, or a related discipline.<\/li>\n<li>Experience in nanomaterial synthesis and characterisation.<\/li>\n<li>Familiarity with cell culture and in vitro biological assays.<\/li>\n<li>Strong motivation to work on an interdisciplinary research challenge.<\/li>\n<li>Excellent communication skills.<\/li>\n<li>Fluency in written and spoken English.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Preferred Qualifications<\/h3>\n<p>Experience in the following areas would be advantageous:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Catalysis and catalytic nanomaterials.<\/li>\n<li>Programming and scientific data analysis.<\/li>\n<li>Large-scale data analysis.<\/li>\n<li>Nano\u2013bio interactions.<\/li>\n<li>Biomedical materials and implant technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Research Environment<\/h3>\n<p>The Nanomaterials in Health Lab at Empa is an interdisciplinary research environment investigating particle biofunctionalisation, cellular uptake, accumulation, transport across biological barriers and biological responses to nanomaterials.<\/p>\n<p>The lab&#8217;s research contributes to the development of personalised strategies for particle design and applications including drug delivery, imaging and diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>The successful candidate will work at the interface of nanomaterials, biology and medical-device research within the i2M Doctoral Network.<\/p>\n<h3>Employment Details<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Degree:<\/strong> PhD.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Duration:<\/strong> 3 years.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Empa, St. Gallen, Switzerland.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Start date:<\/strong> Upon mutual agreement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Funding:<\/strong> The supplied vacancy does not specify a salary or detailed funding package.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supervision:<\/strong> Dr. Giacomo Reina.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Joint affiliation:<\/strong> ETH Z\u00fcrich, D-HEST, Prof. Peter Wick.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Application Documents<\/h3>\n<p>A complete online application should include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Letter of motivation.<\/li>\n<li>Curriculum vitae (CV).<\/li>\n<li>Certificates.<\/li>\n<li>Diplomas.<\/li>\n<li>Contact details of two reference persons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Applications must be submitted exclusively through the Empa job portal. Applications sent by email or post will not be considered.<\/p>\n<h3>Application Deadline<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Not specified.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The vacancy was published on <strong>3 September 2026<\/strong>, but no closing date is stated in the supplied listing.<\/p>\n<h3>External Link<\/h3>\n<p>Official vacancy and application information:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/academicpositions.com\/ad\/empa\/2026\/phd-position-on-nanozyme-based-coating-for-antimicrobial-implants\/252570\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/academicpositions.com\/ad\/empa\/2026\/phd-position-on-nanozyme-based-coating-for-antimicrobial-implants\/252570<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","job_listing_type":[502,49,507,739,296,497],"job_listing_category":[765,535,509,574,770,351,640,471,396,479,322,604],"job_listing_location":[188],"job_listing_tag":[],"class_list":["post-12445","job_listing","type-job_listing","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","job_listing_type-fixed-term","job_listing_type-full-time","job_listing_type-phd","job_listing_type-phd-opportunity","job_listing_type-phd-position","job_listing_type-research","job_listing_category-biointerfaces","job_listing_category-biomedical-engineering","job_listing_category-biomedical-sciences","job_listing_category-catalysis","job_listing_category-drug-delivery","job_listing_category-materials-science","job_listing_category-nanomaterials","job_listing_category-nanomedicine","job_listing_category-nanoscience","job_listing_category-nanotechnology","job_listing_category-research","job_listing_category-research-development","job_listing_location-switzerland","is-featured"],"metas":{"_job_featured_image":"","_job_category":{"765":"Biointerfaces","535":"Biomedical Engineering","509":"Biomedical Sciences","574":"Catalysis","770":"Drug Delivery","351":"Materials Science","640":"Nanomaterials","471":"Nanomedicine","396":"Nanoscience","479":"Nanotechnology","322":"Research","604":"Research &amp; Development"},"_job_type":{"502":"Fixed Term","49":"Full Time","507":"PhD","739":"PhD Opportunity","296":"PhD position","497":"Research"},"_job_tag":[],"_job_apply_type":"external","_job_apply_url":"https:\/\/academicpositions.com\/ad\/empa\/2026\/phd-position-on-nanozyme-based-coating-for-antimicrobial-implants\/252570","_job_apply_email":"","_job_salary_type":"","_job_experience":"","_job_qualification":["","Master\u2019s Degree"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing\/12445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing\/12445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12447,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing\/12445\/revisions\/12447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_type?post=12445"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_category?post=12445"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_location?post=12445"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanohelp.eu\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_tag?post=12445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}