Prof Matthew Fisher, Dr Pantelis Georgiou
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Fungal antimicrobial resistance is on the increase owing to the dual-use of triazole antifungal drugs in agribusiness as well as in frontline medical settings. This is leading to an increase in the incidence of environmentally-acquired azole resistance mutations in the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus which, when causing aspergillosis, results in a patient survivability of less than 12%. Successful treatment of these patients would be greatly increased by understanding the pathways linking aerosolised reservoirs (e.g. fields, industrial composters) to infection, and by developing rapid point-of-care diagnostics for antifungal mutations.
The student will develop isothermal DNA amplification techniques using microfluidic (1) and novel ISFET-based CMOS arrays to detect antifungal mutations (2). These diagnostics will then be integrated into a static airsampler that is permanently running at St Mary’s hospital to monitor temporal exposure of patients to A. fumigatus carrying multidrug-resistance alleles. These diagnostics will then be tested at point-of-care in key NHLI Brompton patient cohorts such as those with cystic fibrosis and chronic lung disease. Currently the prevalence of antifungal resistance in our cohort is 13% overall and 20% in cystic fibrosis
This multifaceted project will train an individual with a exceptional multidisciplinary skillset applicable to environmental exposure and human health.
How to apply
Initial applications should include a full CV, names, addresses and contact details of two academic referees, a personal statement (500 words max) and a covering letter.
Completed applications should be submitted to Professor Matthew Fisher, [Email Address Removed] , by 5pm on Friday 14th April 2017. Full applications will be considered at any time.
Please note only shortlisted applicants will be contacted by the project supervisors and we anticipate interviews will be taking place until the end of April.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be sent to Professor Matthew Fisher, [Email Address Removed].
Funding Notes
Applicants are expected to hold, or to be awarded a first class or a good upper second class BSc Degree, or an equivalent qualification, by October 2017.
The studentships are offered on a 1+3 basis (1 Year of Masters study followed by 3 years of PhD Research). In every case, the Masters Course will commence in October 2017 followed by the commencement of the PhD in October 2018. Only UK and EU students who meet the UK residency requirements are eligible to apply (minimum of three years of continuous residency in the UK immediately prior to the start of the PhD). Non-EU nationals are not eligible.
The studentships cover: (i) an annual tax-free stipend at the standard Research Council rate, (ii) contribution towards research costs, and (iii) tuition fees at the UK/EU rate.
References
(1) Jesus Rodriguez-Manzano, Mikhail A. Karymov, Stefano Begolo, David A. Selck, Dmitriy V. Zhukov, Erik Jue, and Rustem F. Ismagilov* Reading Out Single-Molecule Digital RNA and DNA Isothermal Amplification in Nanoliter Volumes with Unmodified Camera Phones ACS Nano 10 (3), pp 3102–3113 (2016)
(2) Christopher Toumazou et al. Simultaneous DNA amplification and detection using a pH-sensing semiconductor system. Nature Methods 10, 641–646 (2013)
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