We seek a PhD candidate of outstanding ability to join a developing and active research team at The University of Birmingham led by Dr Warwick Dunn (who will be joining The University of Birmingham in early 2013). Our research lies at the interface of analytical chemistry, computational biology/bioinformatics and human health and disease. The focus of our research is the development of innovative advanced methods and software tools applied to study mammalian metabolism and metabolites. We collaborate closely with the research groups of Prof. Mark Viant in the School of Biosciences and Dr Shan He in The School of Computer Science as well as members of The Systems Science for Health initiative (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/ssfh/index.aspx) at The University of Birmingham.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. Our aims are to continue to develop innovative analytical methods and software tools to be applied to comprehensively study and identify metabolites in biological systems including mammals (called metabolomics). We predominantly apply high-throughput mass spectrometry instruments in these studies to enable reproducible and information-rich data to be acquired. Research areas of interest include (i) the development of methods to study diverse sample types (biofluids, cells, tissues); (ii) optimisation of methods to collect information-rich data for chemical identification of metabolites and (iii) development of software tools to aid in high-throughput data collection and processing.
COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY/BIOINFORMATICS. Our aims are to work closely with Dr Shan He to develop (i) tools and software to combine multiple and different types of data; (ii) to develop automated workflows and software for large-scale metabolite identification and (iii) to develop freely-available resources describing the metabolic composition of mammalian cells and tissues.
HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE. Our aims are to apply current and new innovative methods and tools to investigate human health and disease. Particular areas of research interest include human ageing and exercise, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and complications of pregnancy.
TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. A wide range of opportunities for training and personal development are available at The University of Birmingham including mentoring schemes, training courses and one-to-one training. Training in specific scientific disciplines will be dependent upon the interests of the student but can include one of more of the following: (i) analytical chemistry; (ii) computational biology and bioinformatics; (iii) application of metabolomics in studying mammalian systems. Training will operate in a dynamic environment with internationally-recognised scientists and research programmes to provide the skills to develop and apply metabolomics studies in your future career.
FACILITIES: World class bioanalytical research facilities exist at Birmingham for this project as evidenced by the University hosting the NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility (NBAF) for Metabolomics and The School of Biosciences hosting the Advanced Mass Spectrometry facility.
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To find out more about studying for a PhD at the University of Birmingham, including full details of the research undertaken in each school, the funding opportunities for each subject, and guidance on making your application, you can now order your copy of the new Doctoral Research Prospectus, at: www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/drp.aspx
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Please find additional funding text below. For further funding details, please see the ‘Funding’ section.
The School of Biosciences offers a number of UK Research Council (e.g. BBSRC, NERC) PhD studentships each year. Fully funded research council studentships are normally only available to UK nationals (or EU nationals resident in the UK) but part-funded studentships may be available to EU applicants resident outside of the UK. The deadline for applications for research council studentships is in January each year.
Each year we also have a number of fully funded Darwin Trust Scholarships. These are provided by the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh and are for non-UK students wishing to undertake a PhD in the general area of Molecular Microbiology. The deadline for this scheme is also in January each year.
The University of Birmingham also has a 'Doctoral Researcher Elite Scholarship Scheme' which aims to recruit the very best overseas PhD students to Birmingham - more details on this scheme can be found at http://www.graduateschool.bham.ac.uk/rsa/researchcouncils/drelite.shtml
Funding Notes:
Research Council Studentships are available for UK applicants. EU applicants resident in the UK may also be eligible. Non-UK students interested in molecular microbiology may apply for a Darwin Trust Scholarship. The deadline for applications for Research Council and Darwin Trust studentships is 31st January 2013.
We have a thriving community of International PhD students and encourage applications at any time from students of any nationality either able to fund their own studies or who wish to apply for their own funding (e.g. Commonwealth Scholarship Council, Islamic Development Bank).
For further information on funding see http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/biosciences/courses/postgraduate/phd.aspx
References:
If interested in joining this dynamic research team, in the first instance please contact biosciences-phd@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
For further details on the current research in Dunn’s laboratory at The University of Manchester, including relevant research papers see http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/staff/warwickdunn