The maternal gut microbiome and the cardiovascular system

Thank you for your interest in joining our lab! The purpose of our laboratory is to build exceptional scientists that help to improve cardiovascular health. As such, we promote a positive culture in our lab, something we take great pride in - to read more about our values and expectations, please check https://www.marqueslab.com/manual.

We are seeking highly motivated PhD candidates to join our team in Melbourne, Australia, to study the impact of the gut microbiome on the cardiovascular system. This project, in particular, is funded by a competitive grant from the Australian Research Council and aims to understand the impact of maternal fibre intake on the phenotype of the offspring, and it follows previous studies from our team including:

• Determination that dietary fibre regulates blood pressure via production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) - Marques et al., Circulation 2017; Kaye...Marques, 2020 Circulation
• First world evidence that SCFAs lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients - Jama...Marques, Nature Cardiovascular Research 2023

We have also reviewed this topic including in premier journals such as Nature Reviews Nephrology and Nature Reviews Cardiology, and written guidelines for gut microbiome studies (STORMS published in Nature Medicine, Hypertension).

The gut microbiota has a fundamental role in helping the host harvest micronutrients and energy via the digestion of many types of food, including fermentable fibre. Fibre is metabolised by commensal bacteria in the large intestine as an energy source, acting as a prebiotic (i.e., feeding the microbiota). A consequence is the release of substances known as metabolites, such as SCFAs. Work from our laboratories has demonstrated the profound influence of gut microbiota and SCFAs on many systems.

Our latest experiments show that maternal high fibre intake leads to the remodelling of the cellular composition of the offspring’s heart, reducing the number of immune cells and expression of immune-related genes at the single-cell level (Jama...Marques, unpublished). The goal of this project is to determine how changes in the maternal gut microbiota impact the offspring’s phenotype (cardiovascular, intestinal, immune systems). To address this goal, we will use prebiotic fibre, a major factor that impacts the function and modifies the nature of the gut microbiota, as a proof-of-concept of the importance of the maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy. 

Are you:

• A bright junior scientist/doctor/dietician who is highly motivated and hard-working, and work well in teams?
• A holder of a first class honours’ or master’s degree equivalent in biology, molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, bioinformatics or a related field?
• Experienced in medical research?
• An excellent communicator with proficiency in English?
• Able to able to start in 2024?
• Interested to learn how to analyse gut microbiome data in R?

To be eligible for the scholarship you need to have:

• completed a Bachelor degree with a first class honours year or a Bachelor degree with a master’s by research (not coursework) with score >85% *(equivalent to GPA >3.6) - if your GPA is not >3.6 unfortunately you would be automatically unsuccessful and I suggest not going ahead with the application.
• completed a minimum of a 6 month research project DURING their honours or master’s degree (research experience outside the degree will not be considered towards the scholarship application)
• completed one of their degrees in English or satisfy the university language requirements (e.g. IELTs >6.5, please check here: https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/support-and-resources/handbooks/content/chapter-two/2-2)
• Those with a first-author paper in a Q1 journal would be highly competitive.
• Expertise in cardiovascular physiology or molecular biology/microbiology would be advantageous but is not essential.

Applications at: https://forms.gle/T5mDqTR4WmLDam1Z8 - applications via email or via the enquiry option will not be answered.

We look forward to hearing from you!