EASTBIO Computational Modelling of the Effects of Vaccines and Antivirals on Pandemic Spread at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com

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Dr V A Smith, Prof Simon Dobson, Dr J Mitchell No more applications being accepted Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

St Andrews United Kingdom Bioinformatics Epidemiology Evolution Genetics Medical Physics Computer Science Mathematics

About the Project

Modelling of epidemics is an essential tool for science, healthcare and government policy. This project will build on expertise developed during the Covid-19 pandemic: modelling competition between variants of a disease and influence of the structure of the transmission network on the epidemic’s dynamics. You will build on this work to incorporate the influence of vaccines and antimicrobial agents into epidemic spread: simultaneous to attempts to control disease, pathogens can evolve into new strains, influenced by selection pressure from these very control attempts. You will model multiple emerging strains on a transmission network and the influence of different deployment strategies of vaccines and antimicrobials. You will analyse your models to identify optimal control strategies given features of the disease and the transmission network.

You will work within an established collaborative group combining researchers from Biology (V Anne Smith), Chemistry (John Mitchell) and Computer Science (Simon Dobson) at the University of St Andrews. You will gain expertise in epidemic modelling, both mathematical formulation and simulation-based models. You will further gain expertise in pathogen evolution, epidemic networks, network science, and the biology and chemistry underlying vaccines and antimicrobial medicines.

This project is appropriate for individuals with a background in mathematics, computer science, bioinformatics, biology or chemistry wishing to develop expertise in mathematical and computer modelling and epidemic research.

HOW TO APPLY

Application instructions can be found on the EASTBIO website- http://www.eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk/how-apply-0

1) Download and complete the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey.

2) Download and complete the EASTBIO Application Form.

3) Submit an application to St Andrews University through the Online Application Portal

Your online application must include the following documents:

- Completed EASTBIO application form

- 2 References (to be completed on the EASTBIO Reference Form, also found on the EASTBIO website)

- Academic Qualifications

- English Language Qualification (if applicable)

Unfortunately due to workload constraints, we cannot consider incomplete applications. Please make sure your application is complete by Monday 5th December 2022.

CONTACT

Queries on the project can be directed to the project supervisor.

Queries on the application process can be directed to Jess Fitzgerald at [Email Address Removed]

UKRI eligibility guidance: Terms and Conditions: View Website International/EU: View Website

Funding Notes

This 4 year PhD project is part of a competition funded by EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
This opportunity is open to UK and International students and provides funding to cover stipend at UKRI standard rate and UK level tuition fees. The University of St Andrews will cover the Home-International fee difference.

References

Boots, M, & Sasaki, A (1999). 'Small worlds' and the evolution of virulence: infection occurs locally and at a distance. Proceedings of
the Royal Society B, 266:1933–1938.
Mann, PS, Smith, VA, Mitchell, JBO & Dobson, SA (2021) Two-pathogen model with competition on clustered networks, Physical Review E 103:062308. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.103.062308
Mann, PS, Smith, VA , Mitchell, JBO & Dobson, SA (2022) N-strain epidemic model using bond percolation, Physical Review E 106:014304. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.014304

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