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Prof T Bell
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Predators and pathogens often determine the makeup of ecological communities by modifying competitive interactions. In this context, the project will focus on how viruses impact microbial communities in UK rivers. Large quantities of antivirals pass through sewage treatment plants and are deposited into UK rivers, but the effect of antivirals on river ecology remains virtually unexplored. The project will investigate how antivirals alter native communities of river viruses, and whether this has subsequent impacts on competitive interactions among bacteria. The project will also systematically explore the antiviral properties of natural chemicals from plants and microorganisms and their role in shaping microbial communities.
Requirements: You should hold, or realistically expect to obtain, at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent and a Masters degree or equivalent experience.
Students with backgrounds in ecology or microbiology will be considered. Evidence of experience with molecular methods or chemical ecology would be advantageous but not required.
For more information or informal inquiries please contact Dr. Thomas Bell ([Email Address Removed], http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/thomas.bell).
To apply, please send a CV, a cover letter briefly describing your research background and how it is relevant to the studentship, contact information of two references, and a list of relevant past coursework to Dr. Bell.
The project will be in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Singer at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (http://www.ceh.ac.uk/StaffWebPages/DrAndrewSinger.html).
Deadline is 18-May-2012. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted soon thereafter for interview.
Requirements: You should hold, or realistically expect to obtain, at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent and a Masters degree or equivalent experience.
Students with backgrounds in ecology or microbiology will be considered. Evidence of experience with molecular methods or chemical ecology would be advantageous but not required.
For more information or informal inquiries please contact Dr. Thomas Bell ([Email Address Removed], http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/thomas.bell).
To apply, please send a CV, a cover letter briefly describing your research background and how it is relevant to the studentship, contact information of two references, and a list of relevant past coursework to Dr. Bell.
The project will be in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Singer at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (http://www.ceh.ac.uk/StaffWebPages/DrAndrewSinger.html).
Deadline is 18-May-2012. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted soon thereafter for interview.
Funding Notes
Fully funded studentship
Eligibility: UK nationals, EU nationals who have spent at least 3 years prior to the application resident in the UK. Non-UK residents might be considered if the research organization can demonstrate a shortage of high-quality UK candidates.
Eligibility: UK nationals, EU nationals who have spent at least 3 years prior to the application resident in the UK. Non-UK residents might be considered if the research organization can demonstrate a shortage of high-quality UK candidates.
Project supervisors
Career overview
Professor Thomas Bell is a Professor of Microbial Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences at Silwood Park, part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London. His research focuses on the ecology and evolution of microbial communities, which are among the most complex and diverse groups of organisms. Professor Bell employs a combination of laboratory-based experiments and field-based manipulations to study naturally occurring microbial communities. His areas of particular interest include biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in bacterial communities, the development and analysis of large-scale biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments, spatial patterns in bacterial communities, and predator-prey relationships among microbial groups, especially the impact of protist predators on bacterial prey.
Research interests
Professor Bell''s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of microbial communities, which are among the most complex and diverse groups of organisms. His work combines laboratory-based experiments with field-based manipulations of naturally occurring communities. Areas of particular interest include biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in bacterial communities, including the development and analysis of large-scale biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments; spatial patterns in bacterial communities; and predator-prey relationships among microbial groups, particularly the effects of protist predators on bacterial prey.
