About the Partnership
The National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre for Exeter (NIHR Exeter BRC) is a collaboration between University of Exeter (UoE), The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHS Royal Devon) and other SW NHS organisations. The first of its kind for the South West, its fundamental objective is to improve health outcomes for patients and the public by translating scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies. The NIHR Exeter BRC has received £15.6M and will create an environment in the South West for world-leading researchers to thrive and contribute significantly to the local and national economy through cutting edge translational research. Further details of the NIHR Exeter BRC infrastructure can be found here.
The NIHR Exeter BRC will focus on five major, complementary research themes:
- Neurodegeneration: We will find and test new, better drugs that prevent and treat major brain conditions in older adults such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
- Rehabilitation: We will use exciting new approaches to help older people to recover from illness or manage their long-term conditions like dementia and arthritis. This will include using technology to improve movement, maintain brain health and prevent falls.
- Diabetes: We will improve the way diabetes is diagnosed and treated, and we will explore how to help those most at risk of developing the disease.
- Genetics and Genomics: We will unlock the power of genetics, using it to improve diagnosis of rare illnesses in children and rare cancers, and to create treatments for common diseases that can be tailored to different people based on their unique genetic profile.
- Clinical Mycology: We will seek better treatments to prevent and manage fungal infections that are common in the UK and understand better how fungi become resistant to drug treatments.
The Exeter BRC are advertising 24 PhD studentships across the 5 major research themes (Diabetes, Genetics and Genomics, Clinical Mycology, Neurodegeneration and Rehabilitation), and candidates can apply for up to 2 of these. Please note that funding will not allow all projects to be appointed to, as such, the top performing candidates as chosen by the selection panels will be matched to their projects of choice and only these will progress.
Project Details
Physical inactivity is a significant predictor of major noncommunicable metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes, and is proposed the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Short periods of muscle disuse, e.g. bed rest or limb immobilization, lead to substantial muscle atrophy. Our research group has shown that a single session of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), which evokes involuntary muscle contractions, can stimulate the use of dietary protein for muscle protein synthesis after bed rest.
This PhD studentship will explore the effect of NMES on muscle amino acid and glucose uptake on the microvascular level, in response to muscle disuse and food ingestion. The successful student will have the unique opportunity to learn the detailed arterialized venous-deep venous (AV-V) forearm balance technique and microvascular perfusion methods and develop a protocol for forearm muscle NMES, to test the acute impact of muscle contraction on forearm amino acid and glucose uptake, microvascular flow, and muscle perfusion. Further studies will include disuse (i.e. forearm immobilization), complemented by measures of muscle volume/quality (MRI) and function (dynamometry), and test NMES as an interventional strategy during disuse. The student will be based at the fully equipped Nutritional Physiology Research Unit at St Luke’s campus, which provides state-of-the-art facilities to perform invasive human studies involving AV-V forearm balance measurements and intravenous infusions, and analytical laboratories for blood sample analyses.
Funding Information and Eligiblity
A fully-funded three year Biomedical Research Centre - NIHR funded studentship will cover,
• a stipend* (at the standard Research Council UK rate; currently £17,668 per annum for 2022-23)
• research and training costs
• tuition fees (at the standard Research Councils UK rate)
The project and associated funding is only available for candidates considered as 'Home' for fee status purposes.
To be eligible for a fully-funded studentship, you must meet both the academic (see entry requirements) and residence criteria.
Residence Criteria
Important: Residency requirements are complex and too detailed to capture in full below. Please read the guidance provided on the GOV.UK website and UKCISA website to ensure you meet the criteria.
Part Time and Flexible Study Options
Part time study options maybe available please discuss with the supervisor.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The University supports a diverse and inclusive work environments. We therefore welcome applications from individuals regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, or disability status.
The Exeter Biomedical Research Centre is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles throughout all of our processes, from application through to completion of the PhD programme, via our students, supervisors and governance groups.
Information about the university Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies, accreditations and networks can be found in the following link https://www.exeter.ac.uk/departments/inclusion/
For more information and to apply click here: Award details | Funding and scholarships for students | University of Exeter
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