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  It’s getting hot in here: how heatwaves impact health and ageing.


   Faculty of Biological Sciences

  Prof Amanda Bretman, Assoc Prof Elizabeth Duncan, Dr Mirre Simons  Friday, March 14, 2025  Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

About the Project

With the increasing regularity of summer heatwaves, we are starting to see the devastating impacts of climate change. However, most biological predictions of how climate change will impact species are based on the temperatures which are lethal for a species. We’ve recently learnt that many species can become entirely sterile at temperatures well below those that kill them, meaning the effects of climate change have been underestimated.

As this is a new discovery there are many open questions. Why are some species more sensitive than others? Are males generally more vulnerable that females? Do heatwaves affect older individuals more, or mean individuals age faster? What genes or cellular processes underlie vulnerability to heatwaves?

We will use Drosophila fruit flies to investigate these questions. Fruit flies are a well-established lab model for thermal biology, ageing and reproductive research. There are a huge range of genetic resources available for fruit flies to explore molecular/ genetic mechanisms more quickly than in other animals.

The information we generate could immediately be used to inform better demographic predictions of what will happen to populations after heatwaves. Because the genetic responses to temperature are well conserved across species, in the longer term this could better predict vulnerable populations or individuals and to design interventions (e.g. when to prioritize for cool refuges for people, designing livestock breeding for heat resilience).

Find out more:

Bretman et al (2024) Systematic approaches to assessing high-temperature limits to fertility in animals. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 37 (4), 471-485

https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voae021

Dougherty et al (2024) A systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and reproduction Ecological Solutions and Evidence 5 (1), e12303

https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12303

Parratt et al (2021) Temperatures that sterilise males better match global species distributions than lethal temperatures. Nature Climate Change 11, 481-484

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01047-0

For informal enquiries about the project, please contact Prof Amanda Bretman .

About YBDTP:

YBDTP brings together world-class bioscience research and innovation, as well as excellence in doctoral supervision, across the region. YBDTP will fund postgraduate researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Bradford, Hull, Leeds Beckett, Sheffield Hallam and Teesside forming a strong regional training partnership. In YBDTP you'll benefit from a regional doctoral training programme that has interdisciplinary collaboration at its core. The aim is to enable you to develop a range of research skills in biological, biotechnology and biochemical areas as well as equip you with core data analysis and professional skills that are necessary for bioscience research and related non-academic careers.

https://www.whiterose-mechanisticbiology-dtp.ac.uk/yorkshire-bioscience-dtp/

Funding Notes:

Funding: A tax-free annual stipend at the standard UKRI rate (£19,237 for 2024/25 entry), research costs and tuition fees at UK rate

Academic year: 2025/26

Open to: International (including EU) and UK (home) students

Eligibility:

Open to International (including EU) and UK (home) students.

You can apply if you have, or are expecting to gain, at least an upper second-class honours degree or equivalent. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this programme, we welcome applications if your background is in any biological, chemical or physical science or mathematics and are interested in using your skills in addressing biological questions. International students should check if they meet the entry requirements for their country.

We aim to support the most outstanding applicants from outside the UK and are able to offer a limited number of bursaries that will enable full studentships to be awarded to international (EU and non-EU) applicants. These full studentships will only be awarded to exceptional quality candidates, due to the competitive nature of this scheme. 

The Yorkshire Bioscience DTP is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.

Not all projects will be funded; a limited number of candidates will be appointed via a competitive process.

English language:

If English isn't your first language, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability.

How to apply:

Application deadline: 5pm, Friday 14th March 2025

To submit your application, click on the link to the Expression of Interest form in the Funding Notes section of any of your chosen projects. You can apply for up to 3 YBDTP projects (which can be at different universities).

We would advise you to read the questions in the form before submitting your application. Inside the form there is a link to a document for you to see the questions in advance.

If you have any questions about the application process, please email .

If you have any questions about the project you are interested in, please email the project supervisor (details inside the project description).

How we allocate:

Shortlisting will take place as soon as possible after the closing date and successful applicants will be notified promptly. If you're shortlisted, you'll be invited for an interview on a date to be confirmed in February 2025. You'll be notified as soon as possible after the interview dates whether your application has been successful, placed on a reserve list or unsuccessful. If you are successful, you'll be required to confirm your intention to accept the studentship within 10 days.

Terms and conditions:

The studentships are fully funded for four years, and you must complete your PhD in four years.

You'll receive the UKRI minimum doctoral stipend per year for your living costs, which is paid to you in regular instalments. The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) stipend is tax free and does not need to be paid back.

International students will need to have sufficient funds to cover the costs of their student visa, NHS health surcharge, travel insurance and travel to the UK as these are excluded from UKRI funding.

Biological Sciences (4) Environmental Sciences (13)

Funding Notes

To apply for a studentship from the Yorkshire Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership to undertake this project, please complete an expression of interest form for October 2025 recruitment here: View Website


References

Climate change, reproduction, ageing, genetics, heat shock, stress response

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