Infections and infectious diseases – including bacterial infections - cost the NHS an estimated £30 billion each year. Key to countering threats to human health from such infections is the rapid and precise identification of novel bacterial strains. Today, this is commonly achieved through analysis of genome sequencing datasets. While this process is simple in principle, it is more difficult in practise. For example, we cannot be sure whether commonly-used databases of bacterial sequences are “correct” and therefore, when we match a sequence to them, can we rely on the information they tell us?
We have recently obtained a large, high-quality genome sequencing database of ~3,000 bacterial strains within the National Collection of Type Cultures. This world-leading dataset uniquely enables us to test ideas about the diversity of “signature” sequences within a well-controlled set of bacteria. The knowledge gained will enable us to develop novel computer software that can provide a potentially more reliable bacterial identification than can be achieved with current approaches. Given the importance of this task within bacteriology, the tool has the potential to be highly useful and influential for a very large number of researchers.
The PhD candidate will have a unique opportunity to be both a member of the University of East Anglia and the newly formed UK Health Security Agency. They will be immersed within a rich training environment that enables and supports them to develop both their biological knowledge and their computational skills.
This PhD project is in a competition for a Faculty of Science and the UKHSA funded studentship. Funding is available to UK applicants and comprises ‘home’ tuition fees and an annual stipend of £15,609 for 3 years. Applicants who are not eligible for home tuition fees are welcome to apply but they will be required to fund the difference between home and international tuition fees (which for 2021-22 are detailed on the University’s fees pages at https://portal.uea.ac.uk/planningoffice/tuition-fees. Please note tuition fees are subject to an annual increase). Employees of UKHSA may also apply, but funding arrangements may vary from the above if agreed between UEA and UKHSA they will continue their employment during the PhD.
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