Postdoctoral Fellow

**Position Details**:

- Position Information**Position Title**
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Spectroscopy and Holography

**Posting Number**
- PTAP2288P

**Department/Unit**
- Physics and Atmospheric Science

**Location**
- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

**Job Summary & Key Responsibilities**
The Hewitt Bionanophotonics lab in the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science at Dalhousie University is seeking applicants for a 2-yr post-doctoral opportunity, dedicated to advancing one of two major research areas:

- Development of a point-of-care diagnostic test for vitamin D detection to address uterine fibroids in Black women.
- Development of Raman holography for biomedical imaging.

**1. Point of care diagnostic for Vitamin D**:
We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow to develop a point-of-care diagnostic for Vitamin D, in close collaboration with our multi-national team at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN, USA), University of West Indies (Cave Hill campus, Barbados) and University of Calgary.
Low Vitamin D levels are known to increase the incidence of Uterine fibroids (UF). Melanin also interferes with vitamin D production. As a consequence, Black women have been found to be 2-3 times more likely to develop UF and experience more severe symptoms. However, the interplay between melanin, vitamin D and fibroids in Black women, especially in Canada and the Caribbean, is lacking. Our multinational study aims to develop a rapid take-home test with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to measure levels of metabolically active Vitamin D: 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHVitD3).
With a rapid test in hand those at risk of would be able to measure 25OHVitD3 levels in a manner similar to an insulin test, enabling autonomous management of UF. As a result, conventional and unconventional therapeutic interventions can be assessed for their efficacy. With control of this diagnostic tool, those at risk for developing UF would be well positioned to govern their gynecologic health.
synthesizing nanoparticles of various types and sizes
- characterizing the particles using Transmission Electron Microscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Zeta potential measurements
- developing novel DNA oligonucleotides
- functionalizing nanoparticles with DNA aptamers, optical reporter molecules
- analyzing the functionalized nanoparticles using Raman, Fluorescence, FRET, IR, UV - VIS, DLS, and Coherent Raman spectroscopies
- utilizing gold standard (High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assays) and novel techniques for 25OHVitD3 detection in blood plasma
- assessing the sensitivity and specificity of alternative 25OHVitD3 detection techniques (especially in the presence of confounding molecules such as Vitamin D2)
- exploring novel methods including optical, electrical, chemical and other approaches to achieve a limit of Detection of 1 nanomole/liter 25OHVitD3
- implementing the uncovered methods into a point-of-care diagnostic

**2. Development of Raman holography for biomedical imaging**:
Breakthroughs in cell biology have quickly followed from the development of new imaging modalities. Traditional microscopy techniques capture two dimensional images; however, holograms enables three-dimensional imaging over cubic millimeter volumes at video rates in one shot with no need for scanning or stacking.
Holographic microscopy with Raman scattered light would create “molecular holography”, a novel technique which would allow for (i) enhanced multiplexing and (ii) one-shot, fast 3D tracking of many biomolecules (proteins, lipids, etc) in real time, creating an exciting new functional imaging modality for biomedical research.
synthesizing silica-coated, gold nanoparticle dimers by refining an in house technique
- assessing the stimulated, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy response of the silica nanoparticles. by measuring signal strength with respect to power, wavelength, and sample concentration
- tuning and maintaining two Ti:Sapphire lasers to achieve the desired outcomes
- identifying and testing fast detector imaging approaches
- utilize and improve on in-house holographic reconstruction algorithms to retrieve reconstructed images from the acquired holograms
- comparing and contrasting fluorescence and Raman holographic imaging to ascertain where the new technique offers an advantage

In respect to either project, the successful applicant will be provided the opportunity to:

- write manuscripts resulting from the above work
- participate or lead grant proposals
- enroll in innovation and entrepreneurship sandboxes
- travel off site to disseminate research findings
- travel to collaborators’ labs to advance the above research goals
- participate in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training
- participate in professional development workshops
- supervise undergraduate and graduate students
- collaborate with leading scientists and engineers at partner labs in the US (Vanderbilt University) and