Dr Janice Spencer
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Ref: S2017SHLS012
Key words: Diabetes, microbiome, therapy
Background
Recently the composition of the bacterial species that reside in specific areas – the microbiome has been implicated in many long term health conditions. Alteration or dysbiosis of the gut microbiome has been reported in diabetic patients and has been linked to the maintenance of obesity and irritable bowel syndrome. Diabetic patients receiving prophylactic treatment with metformin and antibiotics are reported to be less likely to succumb to infection with Clostridium difficile, the most frequent cause of antibiotic associated diarrhoea in humans. Dysbiosis of the microbiome, normally caused by treatment with antibiotics is essential for C. difficile outgrowth and subsequent infection. Analysis may lead to the development of therapeutic options to reinstate the composition of a healthy microbiota.
The microbial composition of the skin is also important, not only in the protection against potential pathogens but may play a pivotal role in the ability of the skin to heal. Diabetic patients often suffer from poorly healing ulcerations and the understanding of the skin microbiome and its role in the prolonged healing process in these areas could provide possible therapeutic options by identifying protective bacterial species.
Aims
This project will compare the changes in the microbiome in patients after treatment with metformin and other drugs using Next Generation Sequencing Technology and bioinformatics to identify species of bacteria and thus characterise the composition of the gut and skin microbiota at various time points. Conventional microbiology will be used to isolate possible protective or pathogenic species and examine their tolerance to anti-diabetic drugs or antimicrobials. On comparison with non-diabetic controls identification of the differences in the complex microbiomes could provide a potential therapeutic with major human health implications.
Funding Notes
Applications are invited for a full-time PhD research studentship at Glasgow Caledonian University within the School of Health and Life Sciences. The studentship of £19,100 per year is for a period of three years, subject to satisfactory progress. The studentship covers the payment of tuition fees (currently £4,300 for UK/EU students or £15,000 for International students) plus an annual stipend of £14,800 for UK/EU students or an annual scholarship of £4,100 for International students.
References
Example References
Collier A, McLaren, J, Godwin J, Bal A (2014) Is Clostridium difficile associated with the ‘4C’ antibiotics? A retrospective observational study in diabetic foot ulcer patients. J Clin Pract. 68 (5), 628–632. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.12347.
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