University of York, Department of Biology Microbiology PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

Dr D Boucher, Dr M van der Woude

Application Deadline: 5 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Your body is constantly targeted by pathogens like Salmonella, a food-borne. pathogen. Immune cells recognize and protect your body against infections.

Caught in a Venus flytrap: investigating the segregation dynamics of a multidrug resistance plasmid

Dr D Barilla, Dr M Hawkins

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Bacterial multidrug resistance is a growing burden on human health worldwide. Large, low copy number plasmids carrying resistance genes shuttle easily from cell to cell in bacterial populations, causing intra-species and inter-species spreading of antibiotic resistance.

Developing phage therapy to control plant pathogenic bacteria in the rhizosphere microbiome

Dr V Friman

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Plant pathogenic bacteria cause considerable economic losses to food production systems. The main reason for this is that hardly any effective control methods exist to mitigate this damage.

Does plant pathogen adaptation in environmental reservoirs and secondary host affect its virulence and risk for transmission?

Dr V Friman, Prof M Brockhurst, Dr D Jeffares

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Even though opportunistic plant pathogens must survive in various natural. environments during transmission between hosts, this crucial part of their life-.

Ecological and evolutionary interactions in insect symbiont communities

Dr J Ferrari

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Most organisms host bacterial symbionts, which can substantially affect the biology of their hosts. For example, they can alter the host’s nutrition, reproduction, immunity and protect the host from environmental stresses.

Ecological communities in a changing environment

Prof C Dytham, Dr M van der Woude, Dr A J Wood

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

In an era of rapid environmental change predicting the future of ecological communities is vital if mitigation or adaptation is to be successful.

Gaming the system: how bacterial pathogens steal food from commensals

Prof G H Thomas, Prof A J Wilkinson, Dr M van der Woude

Application Deadline: 5 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

The mammalian gut is a complex environment where communities of bacteria. live together creating a robust microflora that protects us from infections.

How does soil microbial diversity impact upon above-ground drought tolerance in plants?

Dr A Hodge, Dr J Ferrari, Prof J Gray

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Microbes perform several key roles in soils including in the supply of many. nutrients through the degradation of soil organic matter, and can contribute to.

Metabolomics informatics

Prof J P J Chong, Dr E Rand

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

We are collecting untargeted metabolomics data on microbiomes associated with the process of anaerobic digestion (the conversion of waste biomass to biogas).

Molecular adaptation in Leishmania parasites

Dr D Jeffares, Prof J Mottram

Application Deadline: 5 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Leishmania are single-celled protozoan parasites of the Order Trypanosomatidae that cause the neglected tropical disease leishmaniasis.