One of the greatest bottlenecks in the agrichemical industry is a poor understanding of how pesticides are metabolised by a given species. This goes to the heart of many unresolved challenges the sector faces. Developing more effective pesticides, minimising harm to non-target species and reducing environmental exposure is critical for building a more sustainable future. Current methods to probe pesticide metabolism are slow, laborious, and low-throughput: compounds are essentially tested one-by-one, considerably reducing possibilities to test new molecules. This project will involve developing novel state of the art lab-on-chip platforms, allowing us to tackle this challenge head-on.
Our technologies will fuse microfluidics, 3D printing, and robotic sampling to build an integrated device that is coupled to a mass spectrometer. The device will produce tens of thousands of droplets with cells inside, with each droplet serving as a distinct data point. This will allow us to probe metabolic degradation of a library of chemicals by model microorganisms. When coupled to big-data analysis, rapid screening will allow us to build a suite of predictive models to correlate chemical structure with metabolic degradation characteristics. Our technologies will be enabling ones: once established, they can be repurposed to pharmaceutical screens, and extended to transcriptomic, proteomic & lipidomic analysis in future iterations.
This is a tech development project at its core, with the student working at the forefront of modern science and engineering. It is ideally suited for candidates with physical science training, including in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and related disciplines. The student will receive superb multidisciplinary training across several labs specialising in Biotechnology (Elani), Analytical Chemistry (Barron), Metabolomics and Microbiology (Larrouy-Maumus). They will also gain experience in applying blue-skies innovations to real-world challenges, as they will also have the opportunity for a short placement at the Bioscience department of Syngenta at Jeallot’s Hill.
All projects commence in October 2021 and provide a full scholarship for our four year 1+3 MRes in Chemical Biology and Bio-Entrepreneurship PhD training programme. Competition for ICB EPSRC CDT studentships is high, ensuring that only the best applicants are awarded a place on the course.
Our programme is aimed at chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering graduates who wish to learn how to apply their physical sciences skills to biological problems. Students from biological or medicinal backgrounds are usually not eligible. If in doubt, please contact us.
Our studentships are for 4 years, covering the fees and bursary (stipend) for a one-year MRes Chemical Biology and Bio-Entrepreneurship, followed by a three-year PhD, subject to passing the MRes.
The entry requirement is a Master’s degree in the physical sciences with a minimum 2.1 or above (or equivalent), and Home fee status; please see the ICB EPSRC CDT website for detailed fee status eligibility information.
We have a very limited number of UKRI funded studentships that can be awarded to EU/international students. Successful applicants, both home and international, will receive a full studentship award to include a stipend and fees at the home level. Please see our eligibility criteria page for further detail.
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