Phage Technology Internship for Biocontrol of Priority Pathogens in the Basque Agri-food Sector

The formal application for the fellowship will be made through the Basque Government call: IKERTALENT 2026

Although the formal application is through the Basque Government, we encourage you to provide us with your CV and any questions or doubts you may have, so that we can assess your candidacy and guide you through the registration for the call itself.

If you have any questions about the registration, you can get in touch via the following email: dlarrinaga@azti.es.

If you want to know more about the project, you can speak with alasa@azti.es and/or mlavilla@azti.es.

Do you like what we have told you? Apply for this offer and live the experience with AZTI!

Would you like to join a leading, innovative organization strongly committed to research and providing value to society?

AZTI's purpose is to drive positive change for the future of people, contributing to a healthy, sustainable, and integral society. And you can be part of this challenge.

From the Quality, Safety, and Food Safety (CSI) team, we are looking for a person to carry out a Technology Fellowship at AZTI on "Phages for the biocontrol of priority pathogens within the agri-food sector of Euskadi.

The selected candidate will apply to the IKERTALENT 2026 - training grants for research and technological personnel in the scientific-technological and business fields of the agricultural, fishing, and food sectors. In this case, it is a training grant program for specialized technological personnel in areas of the Basque agricultural, fishing, and food sectors (duration 2 years).

Project title: Phage Technology for the biocontrol of priority pathogens within the agri-food sector of Euskadi.

Project tutors at AZTI: Amaia Lasagabaster, María Lavilla.

Center: AZTI Derio.

The Basque food sector faces multiple challenges, including maintaining microbiological safety throughout the entire agri-food chain. Foodborne intoxications and infections continue to be a major public health challenge, especially given the persistence of certain pathogens and the limitations that conventional strategies, such as preservatives or heat treatments, may present in certain food matrices. In this context, it is necessary to advance complementary tools that allow for reinforcing food safety in an effective, sustainable way that is adapted to real application conditions.

The general objective of this project is the development of innovative phage-based solutions oriented towards the biocontrol, prevention, and elimination of pathogens in the Basque agri-food chain. Bacteriophages are of special interest as biological agents due to their high specificity, as they allow action on target bacteria without affecting other beneficial microorganisms present in the food microbiome.

The specific objectives of the project are:

• SO1. Increase the collection of bacteria of interest to the Basque agri-food industry.
• SO2. Expand the collection of bacteriophages characterized phenotypically, genotypically, and technologically with specific activity against the isolated bacteria.
• SO3. Design and optimize phage formulations with high specificity and efficacy.
• SO4. Design safe and sustainable application strategies as an alternative or complement to other existing control measures and technologies.
• SO5. Evaluate the efficacy and safety of new formulations in foods and relevant environments.

To achieve these objectives, the selected person will participate in the isolation and characterization of new pathogens and bacteriophages using microbiological techniques, including specific cultures, double-layer techniques, and spot tests. Likewise, they will work on the technological characterization of the phages, analyzing aspects such as host range, plaque efficiency, and stability, as well as their genetic characterization through whole sequencing.

The project will also address the design of multi-phage formulations, experimentally evaluating different combinations to identify possible antagonisms and enhance synergies between phages. Methodologies aimed at their stabilization and administration will be studied, optimizing the dose and form of application and analyzing their possible combination or interference with other food processes. Finally, through challenge tests, their efficacy will be evaluated to control pathogens on organic surfaces and food matrices, as well as for the elimination of biofilms on inert surfaces.

As a result, it is expected to obtain at least one phage-based solution optimized and validated for the control of pathogens in food matrices and/or relevant application conditions. The work will allow for progress in multi-phage formulations with demonstrated efficacy and the establishment of optimal utilization conditions, generating evidence of their efficacy and safety as a complementary tool to improve food safety.

These tools are framed within the One Health concept and seek to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food industry through the development of biocontrol solutions against bacterial pathogens.

The selected person will integrate into the Bacteriophage Research Group of the Quality, Safety, and Food Safety Area of AZTI, a multidisciplinary team with experience in food microbiology, biotechnology, and phage biology. For the development of the project, they will have access to BSL-2 and BSL-3 microbiology laboratories, molecular biology and biomolecular characterization laboratories, and pilot plant facilities that allow working with pathogenic microorganisms and performing tests under relevant conditions.