PhD Studentship: Phage Future: Gut phages for the biocontrol of AMR pathogens (ADRIAENSSENSQ19DART)

Applications Close: 29 July 2019

Contract Length: 3.5 years

Project Description

We are recruiting a student on a fully-funded PhD project on the use of bacteriophages as biocontrol agents for antimicrobial resistant pathogens. The project is an academic-industry collaboration between Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB, Norwich, UK) and JAFRAL (Ljubljana, Slovenia), a world-leading phage manufacturing company. The student will join the team of Dr Evelien Adriaenssens, an expert in bacteriophage biology, and that of Dr Mark Webber, specialised in antimicrobial resistance. In this project, the student will use established methods to discover novel phages against Salmonella and Klebsiella bacteria and investigate resistance development and the interactions with clinically relevant antibiotics, using state-of-the-art techniques such as TraDIS and high-throughput sequencing. During a three-month placement period in Slovenia, the student will get inducted in the phage manufacturing process and create high-quality phage preparations.

The ideal candidate has at a minimum an Upper Second class Honours degree (or equivalent), experience working in a microbiology lab and most importantly a passion for bacteriophage research. The PhD student will be based in the new purpose-built Quadram Institute building, located on the Norwich Research Park, where they will join a vibrant research community at the interface between fundamental and translational research into gut microbiology, health and disease. The QIB offers a wide range of training opportunities for its student cohort, laboratory and computational scientific support and funding to attend national and international conferences, preparing the student for any career of their choice.

This project is funded by the MRC Doctoral Antimicrobial Research Training Programme (DART). Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed as part of the studentship competition. Interviews are expected to be held on either Monday 12 August, Tuesday 13 August or Wednesday 14 August 2019.

Students will benefit from collaborative training with the Norwich Research Park Doctoral Training Programme, as well as a breadth of training possibilities across UEA and Norwich Research Park partners.

Through collaboration with a non-academic partner, iCASE students will spend 3-18 months on a placement with the partner company. Through this placement, students gain access to training, facilities and expertise not available in an academic setting alone, significantly enhancing future employability.

Applicants must meet the minimum eligibility requirements as specified by MRC, as well as the entry requirements for UEA postgraduate research degrees.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website: https://www.uea.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/phds-and-studentships/dart-mrc-icase

Funding Notes

For funding eligibility please see this website.

The studentships are for 3.5 years and cover full tuition fees (Home/EU), a student stipend of £17,509 (2019/20 UKRI stipend £15,009pa & iCASE partner contribution of £2,500pa) and a Research Training Support Grant (£5,000pa) and are available to students who meet the UK residency requirements. Students from EU countries who do not meet the UK residency requirements may be eligible for a fees-only award.

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