Medical Research Foundation National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance Research: Analysis and Prediction of Carbapenem-Resistance in Healthcare-Associated Infections

We have an exciting opportunity to develop next-generation machine learning methods for controlling antibiotic resistance, the most pressing challenge in global health. The project is part of a thriving collaboration between the Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (Dept. Medicine) and the Centre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare (Dept. Mathematics) at Imperial College London.

The student will develop cutting-edge tools to forecast and control the prevalence of carbapenem-resistance, a particularly critical type of resistance. They will employ time-series analysis and machine learning to time-resolved data from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, working closely with the Trust’s Epidemiology team, to quantitatively predict and optimise the impact of interventions. They will learn advanced quantitative skills in health data science and join a cross-disciplinary ecosystem of mathematicians, clinicians and public health specialists.

The ideal candidate should have an excellent academic record and excellent mathematical and computational skills. Interested candidates may contact Dr Andrea Weisse [Email Address Removed] or Prof Mauricio Barahona [Email Address Removed] for general queries.

Benefits of joining the Medical Research Foundation National PhD Training Programme in AMR Research:
• All PhD projects will be based within interdisciplinary research consortia funded by the UKRI Cross-Council AMR Initiative.
• All students will have access to enhanced training opportunities including residential skills and training courses, cohort-building activities, and annual conferences. All are designed to expose students to a range of discipline-specific languages and interdisciplinary research skills, which are essential for enabling them to thrive as multidisciplinary AMR researchers.
• PhD students will undertake a fully-funded 3-month interdisciplinary AMR project allowing them to work outside of their primary research area or an elective placement in industry, publishing, media, policy development or in AMR-relevant charities and organisations.
• All Medical Research Foundation-funded PhD students will also be part of a wider cohort of 150 PhD students from across the UK who are also studying AMR. The cohort will have access to a bespoke, innovative online learning environment, which will facilitate peer-to-peer networking, question setting and mentoring.

Further information can be found on our website: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cellmolmed/study/postgraduate/amr/

Applicants must ensure that they meet the eligibility requirements of Imperial College London. To qualify for Home tuition fee status, you must be a UK or EU citizen who has been resident for 3 years prior to commencement. Please note that overseas students not eligible for Home (UK/EU/EEA citizens) tuition fee status will be eligible for funding through this Programme but the student must pay the difference between the annual Home tuition fee and the tuition fees required for overseas students. Overseas students should be able to demonstrate adequate financial support to cover the difference between the Home/EU fee and the overseas fee. Applicants are also required to meet Imperial College’s English language requirements. Please see the following link: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/registry/admissions/pgenglish.

Applicants must have/or expect to gain a first class or upper second class honours degree or overseas equivalent in a relevant subject area such as Mathematics, Medical informatics, Computer science or Physics. A Master’s Degree in a relevant area is preferable but not essential. We look for highly motivated applicants with excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. Please read additional guidance here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/apply/.

Applications
Applicants are requested to send a full CV (including the names and email addresses of at least two academic referees), and personal statement (detailing why you are interested in the research project) to Dr Andrea Weisse [Email Address Removed]. Suitable candidates will be then asked to complete an electronic application form at Imperial College London in order for their qualifications and eligibility to be assessed by College Registry.

If invited to, please apply here: https://apply.imperial.ac.uk/login

Select Science, engineering and medicine then Clinical Medicine Research, A3Z1DM for a PhD. Please ensure you submit references and other documentation as listed in the guidelines here-
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/apply/how-to-apply/ . For proposed research topic, please enter the title specified in this advert above. This can be refined at a later date. Please select Prof Alison Holmes as your supervisor.