EASTBIO - Developing bacteriophage technology to target foodborne Escherichia coli O157 in packed foods

Funding

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 tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs.

The proportion of international students appointed through the EASTBIO DTP is capped at 30% by UKRI BBSRC. All students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance at UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions, esp. TGC 5.2 & Annex B. Please contact [Email Address Removed] if you are unsure of your fee status.

The Project

The proposed project seeks to develop an innovative bacteriophage (phage, virus of bacteria) technology to control the Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 safely and effectively in food packaging to complement other control and surveillance strategies, and to save lives.

STEC is an important foodborne zoonotic pathogen responsible for serious life-threatening gastroenteritis characterised by severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea and occasional vomiting in humans. The infection is globally disseminated with over 2.8 million hospitalisations and 230 deaths reported annually. Further complications including haemolytic uraemic syndrome and end-stage renal failure can occur in ~10% of patients, especially children.

STEC is acquired through faecal-oral route. The infection can be self-limiting and current surveillance and control strategies are important in their own merit to reduce infection rates. However, spontaneous severe outbreaks caused by emerging and prevalent serogroups such as the E. coli O157 acquired mostly through eating contaminated fresh vegetables and meat products are still reported worldwide. The infection is further compounded by dwindling antibiotic innovations to combat the antimicrobial resistance associated with the pathogen.

To effectively control E. coli O157 and alleviate the impending global health crisis by antimicrobial resistance, this project will address a gap in the infection, focusing on bacterial proliferation in cultures and biofilms found in packaged foods which significantly contributes to the transmission of the pathogen. This would be achieved through an innovative phage technology in food packaging to complement existing methods.

Phages are natural enemies of bacteria and have great advantages over antibiotics. They are easy to isolate and develop, can effectively target and kill antimicrobial resistant bacteria in biofilms (which are common in food packaging), safe on gut microbiome and amplify at infection sites ensuring continuous dose supply of viral particles. Although discovered over a century ago, phages are gaining more recognition lately due to increased awareness. Thus, many phage preparations are being investigated for therapeutic purposes in foods.

Therefore, this project aims to isolate and characterise the morphology, stability, genome content and host range (the representative prevalent strains the phages can lyse) properties of lytic phages for E. coli O157. We also aim to optimise phage cocktails from the phages for better lysis coverage and to mitigate any resistance effects. The therapeutic potential of the cocktails will be investigated in relevant infection models.

Knowledge gained here would direct further development of the phages for the control of E. coli O157 in food packaging. The strategy is timely in the context of antimicrobial resistance.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria are available on the EASTBIO how to apply webpage.

How to Apply

To apply for an EASTBIO PhD studentship, please follow the guidance on the EASTBIO how to apply webpage. EASTBIO can provide you with support for your application and details are available on the webpage.

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Janet Nale - [Email Address Removed]

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

1) Download and complete the online EASTBIO Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a Unique Number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your EASTBIO Application Form.

2) Download and fill in the EASTBIO Application Form. You can only apply for one EASTBIO PhD project.

3) Download and send the EASTBIO Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to [Email Address Removed] by 27 November 2023

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to [Email Address Removed] by 27 November 2023

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at [Email Address Removed]