The BBSRC-funded South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP) involves a partnership of world-renown universities, research institutes and industry across the South West and Wales.
This partnership represents a distinctive group of bioscientists, with established international, national and regional networks, and widely recognised research excellence.
We aim to provide students with outstanding interdisciplinary research training within the following themes, underpinned by transformative technologies:
These are growth areas of the biosciences and for which there will be considerable future demand.
The award:
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP).
Programme Overview
You will be recruited to a broad, interdisciplinary project, supported by a multidisciplinary supervisory team, with many cross-institutional projects available. There are also opportunities to:
• apply your research in an industrial setting (DTP CASE studentships).
• undertake research jointly with our core and associate partners (Standard DTP studentships with an
associatepartner).
• work with other national/international researchers.
• undertake fieldwork.
Our structured training programme will ensure you are well equipped as a bioscience researcher, supporting careers into academia, industry and beyond.
Project Description
The rise of multi-resistant bacterial pathogens is a serious and urgent health threat in the UK and throughout the world. Viruses that infect bacteria (phages) have been suggested as a potent antibacterial therapeutic strategy.
Many phages can employ two lifestyles: lytic, where they replicate in infected cells to generate new virions, and lysogenic, where they remain dormant following an infection and wait for a future opportunity to become lytic. Every infection, phages must 'decide' whether to employ the lytic or the lysogenic cycle, but the principles governing this decision are largely unknown. It was recently demonstrated that some phages use molecular communication to coordinate their infection dynamics (Erez et al Nature 2017). These phages produce communication molecules that determine whether phage will lyse their bacterial host or whether the phage instead enter into lysogeny. It was found that different phages use different communication molecules, effectively causing them to speak different languages.
The discovery that viruses can communicate to make group decisions about their infection strategy has opened an entirely novel paradigm in virology, and raises many pressing questions. How widespread is the ability of viruses to communicate? Why do not all viruses communicate? What drives the diversification of viral communication systems?
In this project, you will combine experimental evolution, molecular microbiology and theoretical approaches to address these important questions, using Bacillus species in which these phages were identified as a model. This project will be the first to address the evolutionary ecology of viral communication systems.Understanding how phage communication systems work and how they evolve will pave the way for manipulating phage-mediated lysis of bacteria in clinical, agricultural and natural environments.
The project will be based at the Penryn campus of the University of Exeter, which has state-of-the-art facilities for Microbiology research. You will be part of a thriving community of Microbiologists who studying various aspects of bacteria-phage interactions and microbial evolution and ecology. Moreover, you will benefit from co-supervision by Prof van Houte, a leading phage biologist, Dr. Tiffany Taylor (University of Bath), who is an expert in the evolution of gene regulation, and close collaborations with the Gebard lab (University of Bath), who bring expertise in Bacillus genetics, and the Gandon lab (CNRS, France), who has developed mathematical models that predict how viral communication systems evolve (Bruce et al, Current Biology 2021).
For more information on the team, see 5 / 17 https://westralab.wordpress.com
Part Time and Flexible Study Options
Part time study options maybe available please discuss with the supervisor. For further information please see - https://www.swbio.ac.uk/project-adjustments-part-time-study-and-flexible-working/
Due to complexities and restrictions associated with visas for part-time studies, we are currently unable to accept part-time international students to the programme.
Entry Requirements
- Undertaking units as part of your degree that have a significant quantitative/mathematical component*
- Maths or Physics A-level (grade B and above)
*Significant mathematical component examples include; maths, statistics, bioinformatics.
Applicants must ensure they highlight their quantitative/mathematical background within their application and to upload any supporting evidence.
To support accessibility to PhD training opportunities, these studentships are only available to applicants that have not previously obtained or about to obtain a PhD degree (or equivalent).
How to apply
The closing date for applications is midnight on Monday, 5 December 2022. Interviews will be held between 1st and 15th February 2023.
If you have any general enquiries about the application process please email [Email Address Removed].
Project-specific queries should be directed to the primary supervisor.
For further information and to submit an application please visit - https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/funding/award/?id=4567
Selection Process:
Please note, the studentship selection process will take place in two stages:
1. The project supervisors will consider your application and may invite you to visit for an informal interview. You can apply for more than one BBSRC SWBio DTP project, although supervisors may take into account your interest and commitment to their particular project. If you apply for multiple projects, please indicate your preferred project choice in your letter of application. Each application for an individual project will be considered separately by the project supervisors.
2. After closure of applications, each supervisory team will then nominate their preferred applicant. A shortlist will be selected from these nominations and shortlisted applicants will be invited for interview on a selection day at the University of Bristol. Please note that nomination by a project supervisor therefore does not guarantee the award of a studentship.
For further information please go to - https://www.swbio.ac.uk/programme/selection-process/
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