The assembly of membraneless organelles is emerging as a fundamental paradigm for many cellular functions. Among these, stress granules play a central role in health and disease by concentrating proteins and RNAs, driving adaption to stressful conditions including during disease. However, very little is known about the role of stress granules during bacterial infection. Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains a leading cause of infectious death globally. We have discovered that M. tuberculosis is able to manipulate stress granule formation.
This PhD project will apply a state-of-the-art experimental approaches to test our hypothesis that stress granule formation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenic strategy of M. tuberculosis within its human host cell and therefore presents a potential drug target.
Impact: The results from these studies will lead to a fundamental understanding of stress granule manipulation by M. tuberculosis and will facilitate the development of novel therapeutics desperately needed to control the ongoing tuberculosis pandemic.
Skills. Training will be provided in several areas of cell biology, mycobacteriology, molecular biology, including working at containment level 3, and CRISPRi in research groups which have an excellent track record of success in these areas. The student will become an active member of the stress granule and tuberculosis research community at the University of Surrey attending meetings, journal clubs and presentations and will benefit from mentorship from other research scientists here. Additional opportunities will include bespoke training courses, a scientific writing retreat, public outreach events and support to present their research at national and international all of which will facilitate future career development.
Relevant publications.
Tweedie A and Nissan T (2021). Hiding in Plain Sight: Formation and Function of Stress Granules During Microbial Infection of Mammalian Cells. Front Mol Biosci. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.647884
Principle supervisor - : Dr Dany Beste
(https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/dany-beste
[Email Address Removed]
Entry requirements
Open to UK and international students with the project starting in October 2023. Note that a maximum of 30% of the studentships will be offered to international students.
You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements for our PhD programme https://www.surrey.ac.uk/postgraduate/biosciences-and-medicine-phd#entry.
How to apply
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the relevant principal supervisor(s) to discuss the project(s) before submitting their application.
Applications should be submitted via the [https://www.surrey.ac.uk/postgraduate/biosciences-and-medicine-phd programme page (N.B. Please select the October 2023 start date when applying).
You may opt to apply for a single project or for 2 of these Faculty-funded studentship projects
When completing your application, in place of a research proposal, please provide a brief motivational document (1 page maximum) which specifies:
- the reference numbers(s) for the project or two projects you are applying for
- the project title(s) and principal supervisor name(s)
- if applying for two projects, please also indicate your order of preference for the projects
- an explanation of your motivations for wanting to study for a PhD
- an explanation of your reasons for selecting the project(s) you have chosen
Additionally, to complete a full application, you MUST also email a copy of your CV and 1-page motivational document directly to the relevant project principal supervisor of each project you apply for. Due to short turnaround times for applicant shortlisting, failure to do this may mean that your application is not considered.
Please note that online interviews for shortlisted applicants are expected to take place during the week commencing 30th January.
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