MINIMA · Microbial navigation strategies in ecologically relevant porous media

The navigation of microorganisms in porous environments has received much research attention not only because of its relevance to many ecological, medical, and technological situations, from soil bioremediation to pathogenesis, but also as a representative problem in the recently emerging field of active matter. Taking soil as an example, such a hierarchical complex porous structure presents multiple challenges to navigating microorganisms, but we still lack a comprehensive mechanistic model that could solve the active navigation problem of microorganisms in such environments. In this project, I aim to uncover navigation strategies of microorganisms in features of different length scales, focusing on their swimming in porous structures and sliding on rough surfaces. Leveraging a cross-disciplinary approach by combining microfluidics, advanced optical microscopy, computer-assisted image analysis, and numerical modeling, I expect to extract a general criterion for the optimal spreading by microorganisms in porous media, and to discover underlying microbial feedback mechanisms in relation to their porous environments. The results of the proposed research will be of interest not only to the fundamental physics of ""active matter under confinement"", but also of practical relevance to soil bioremediation, biomedical micromotor and antimicrobial surfaces development. This project will provide a solid opportunity to build my multi-disciplinary research profile and experimental skills, ultimately bringing me significantly closer to my career aspirations of being an internationally visible independent researcher.""