Advanced adjuvants for antibody production

Professor Helen Griffiths and Professor Yvonne Perrie (School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University), and Professor Paul Davis (Mologic)

Applications are invited from ambitious, self-motivated candidates to work on, rationalise and improve adjuvant technologies for improved vaccine efficacy using immunochemical and pharmaceutical approaches.
This opportunity is open to UK/EU students, who have at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in a biological or pharmaceutical science or a related subject. This project brings together the expertise of the Biotechnology Company, Mologic (www.mologic.co.uk) and Aston University’s Vaccine Team.

The project aims to rationalise and improve adjuvant technologies for improved vaccine efficacy across the lifespan. Adjuvants are molecules or structured assemblies of molecules or formulations (mixtures of substances) that work together with the vaccine antigens to potentiate the immune response to the vaccine. They do this by stimulating the cellular processes that come together to create the immune response and/or control a sustained delivery of the vaccine antigens. Together we have developed capability to design-in, synthesise and encapsulate antigenic peptides into novel, single and multi-layer liposomes. The student will synthesise and evaluate biological responses of liposomes carrying combinations of active molecules that promote each of the three key steps in peptide-specific antibody production. This project will therefore provide a student with first class interdisciplinary research training at the biology-pharmaceutical chemistry interface in the field of industrial biotechnology. Aston University’s School of Life and Health Sciences was ranked in the top 5% of UK Higher Education Institutions for research in Allied Health Professions in the last Research Excellence Framework (REF2014). Additional information about research in the School can be found at http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Helen Griffiths (E-mail: [Email Address Removed]; http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/staff/az-index/griffihr/).


Financial Support:

UK students (including EU nationals who have been continuously resident in the UK for the last 3 years) will receive full tuition fees. For UK Students only - a tax-free stipend will be provided at the current BBSRC rate of £13,863 p.a. Overseas students are not eligible for funding. To check further into eligibility, please refer to the BBSRC Website.


Application Requirements:

• Eligible Applicants should hold at least a Bachelor (Hons.) Degree of either First Class or Upper Second Class or hold a Masters Degree (MSc/MRes) in a relevant discipline.
• EU Applicants will need to demonstrate adequate proficiency in English Language skills, with a minimum overall score of 101 (Internet Based) (with a minimum score in each section of: R: 23, W: 26, L: 23 and S: 22) in TOEFL or IELTS with minimum marks of 6.5 in each section and an overall band of 7.0.
• The Studentship is funded for 4 years, subject to a satisfactory progress review at the end of the first year, and with submission by 4 years is required. The anticipated Registration date is 1st October 2015.
• To apply please complete the on-line application form at
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/postgraduate-research/apply/ quoting the Reference ‘CASE-Griffiths_Perrie_Mologic’ on all applications.
• The Closing Date for All Applications is: Friday, 17th April 2015
• Interviews will be held on the afternoon of Monday 27th April 2015.