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Prof B H Davies
Prof Ade Whitehouse
Dr Julie Aspden
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
The changing climate is already having a dramatic effect on the growth and development of the plants that support our entire civilisation. This is likely to be amplified as we await concerted action on climate change. It is therefore essential that we attempt to understand the mechanisms that enable factors such as increased temperature to affect plant performance. Understanding these mechanisms will allow us to engineer altered responses and thereby mitigate the negative effects. We have used a genetic screen to identify novel components of the mechanism that allows plants to decide when to flower in response to temperature. One of the novel genes that we identified directly links the epigenetic control of gene expression to temperature perception. In this project you will discover the underlying mechanism, identify more components and use our new understanding to engineer plants that respond differently to temperature. In addition, you will explore the biotechnological applications of the mechanism. You will join a collaborative team including plant developmental biologists, virologists and RNA biologists to apply advanced molecular genetic and genomic approaches to study this highly topical global challenge.
Funding Notes
White Rose BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership in Mechanistic Biology
4 year fully-funded programme of integrated research and skills training, starting Oct 2020:
• Research Council Stipend
• UK/EU Tuition Fees
• Conference and research funding
Requirements:
At least a 2:1 honours degree or equivalent. We welcome students with backgrounds in biological, chemical or physical sciences, or mathematical backgrounds with an interest in biological questions.
EU candidates require 3 years of UK residency to receive full studentship
Not all projects will be funded; the DTP will appoint a limited number of candidates via a competitive process.
https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/81-white-rose-bbsrc-doctoral-training-partnership-in-mechanistic-biology
4 year fully-funded programme of integrated research and skills training, starting Oct 2020:
• Research Council Stipend
• UK/EU Tuition Fees
• Conference and research funding
Requirements:
At least a 2:1 honours degree or equivalent. We welcome students with backgrounds in biological, chemical or physical sciences, or mathematical backgrounds with an interest in biological questions.
EU candidates require 3 years of UK residency to receive full studentship
Not all projects will be funded; the DTP will appoint a limited number of candidates via a competitive process.
https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/81-white-rose-bbsrc-doctoral-training-partnership-in-mechanistic-biology
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Career overview
Professor Brendan Davies is a member of the School of Biology at the University of Leeds. He holds a BSc from London and a PhD obtained in 1991 from the CNAA. His research primarily focuses on plant development, particularly the mechanisms underlying flower development and meristem function. This work has led to significant insights into the role of transcription factors, gene regulatory networks, and the control of gene expression in developmental processes. Professor Davies has expanded his research interests to include various forms of gene regulation, such as transcriptional repression, mRNA stability, splicing, and the control of translation. He is currently involved in several research projects that explore the master regulators of flower development, the mechanisms of transcriptional repression, and the effects of temperature on alternative splicing.
Research interests
Professor Brendan Davies'' research focuses on plant development, particularly flower development and meristem function. His work investigates the role of transcription factors, gene regulatory networks, and the control of gene expression in developmental processes. He has a keen interest in various forms of gene regulation, including transcriptional repression, mRNA stability, splicing, and control of translation. Current projects include understanding flower development and the master regulators involved, the mechanisms of transcriptional repression and its implications for plant development and evolution, control of translation by short conserved upstream open reading frames, and the effects of temperature on alternative splicing.
Career overview
Professor Ade Whitehouse obtained a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Sheffield in 1991 and a D.Phil in Molecular Virology from the University of Oxford in 1994. Following postdoctoral work at the Molecular Medicine Unit, St James’s Hospital in Leeds, he was awarded a Medical Research Council Non-clinical Fellowship in 1998. Professor Whitehouse joined the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in 2002, was appointed to Reader in 2005, and became a Professor of Molecular Virology in 2010. His research focuses on the relationship between viruses and cancer, particularly how viruses cause cancer and the development of novel antiviral strategies to prevent infection and tumourigenesis. He studies the molecular biology of Kaposi''s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), both of which are linked to human cancers.
Research interests
Professor Whitehouse''s research focuses on the intersection of virology and cancer, specifically how viruses contribute to oncogenesis. Their work aims to understand the mechanisms by which viruses cause cancer and to develop innovative antiviral strategies to prevent viral infections and tumourigenesis. The Whitehouse laboratory studies two recently discovered human tumour viruses: Kaposi''s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). KSHV is linked to various lymphoproliferative disorders, including Kaposi''s sarcoma, which has become an epidemic disease in sub-Saharan Africa due to widespread HIV infection. The research investigates the molecular mechanisms regulating lytic gene expression to enhance understanding of KSHV pathogenesis. MCPyV is associated with Merkel cell carcinoma, a highly aggressive skin cancer. Given its recent discovery, the laboratory is exploring the role of MCPyV-encoded proteins in the transformation and immortalisation of human cells. Current projects include identifying essential virus-host cell interactions necessary for virus replication or transformation, employing transcriptomic and quantitative proteomic techniques. These interactions are verified through biochemical and confocal imaging methods, focusing on RNA processing and translation control during viral infection. Additionally, the research involves structural-based rational drug design to create small molecules that inhibit oncogenic viruses, particularly targeting KSHV and MCPyV. Professor Whitehouse''s ongoing research projects encompass various aspects of virus-host interactions, KSHV-induced translation, live cell imaging of pathogenic viruses, and the development of novel antiviral approaches.
Molecular Virology
Virology
Oncogenic Viruses
RNA Processing
Translational Control
Omic Technologies
Gene Expression
Cancer
Virus-Host Cell Interactions
Antiviral Strategies
Kaposi''s Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus
Transcriptomic Approaches
Proteomic Approaches
Structural-Based Drug Design
Virus Replication
Tumourigenesis
Metastatic Potential
High-Throughput Screening
Specialised Ribosomes
Non-Coding RNA Regulatory Networks.
Career overview
Dr. Julie Aspden read Biochemistry at The Queen’s College, Oxford, before undertaking a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, focusing on the initiation of mRNA translation. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Aspden completed two postdoctoral positions; the first at the University of California, Berkeley, where her research centred on alternative mRNA splicing in the fruit fly, and the second at the University of Sussex, where she defined novel regions of translation. In 2015, Dr. Aspden was awarded a University Academic Fellowship in Pervasive Transcription, which allowed her to establish her own research group at the University of Leeds in August 2015. Her research combines biochemistry, genomics, molecular biology, and genetics to investigate the roles of RNAs in fruit flies and mammalian tissue culture, leveraging the genetic and genomic advantages of *Drosophila* as a model organism.
Research interests
Dr. Aspden''s research focuses on the regulation of mRNA translation, non-coding RNA function, and the role of specific RNA-protein complexes. Her work combines biochemistry, genomics, molecular biology, and genetics to study RNAs in *Drosophila* and mammalian tissue culture. She is particularly interested in how translation is regulated during initiation, especially by the 5'' untranslated region (UTR) and associated proteins, and how disruptions to RNA-protein interactions and translational regulation can play significant roles in various cancers and disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy. Dr. Aspden also investigates long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the cytoplasm, exploring their role in gene expression and their association with neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. She studies the function of cytoplasmic lncRNAs, which are increasingly recognised as being translated and involved in gene regulation. Furthermore, her research delves into the history of mRNA ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes, examining how proteins interact with mRNAs during processing and translation. Dr. Aspden aims to understand how RNA processing in the nucleus affects translation in the cytoplasm and how disturbances in mRNP composition can be detrimental to cellular function. Her research is currently funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and the Royal Society.
RNA
mRNA Translation
Ribosomes
RNA-Binding Proteins
Long Non-Coding RNAs
mRNA Splicing
Drosophila
Spermatogenesis
Biochemistry
Genomics
Molecular Biology
Genetics
Translational Regulation
Non-Coding RNA Function
Cytoplasmic lncRNAs
Gene Expression
Neuronal Disease
RNA-Protein Complexes
Alternative mRNA Splicing
RNA Processing
mRNP Composition
Cancer
Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Epigenetic Control
Plant Gene Expression
Virus Replication
Specialised Ribosomes.
