Joint PhD Program: The maternal microbiome during pregnancy and the offspring’s risk of allergic disease

A Joint PhD scholarship is available in Deakin University’s School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and the University of Copenhagen’s Graduate School of Health & Medical Sciences in collaboration with Barwon Health. The PhD student will initiate and conduct research as part of a joint doctoral research project on the topic ’Maternal microbiome during pregnancy and the offspring’s risk of allergic disease’ led by Prof Peter Vuillermin (Deakin) and Prof Hanne Frøkiæ (the University of Copenhagen). The successful applicant will be based at the Deakin’s Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus and at University of Copenhagen.

Allergic disease now affects 30% of the world’s population. There is intense interest in the potential relationship between depletion of the human microbiome in the modern environment and the increase in immune related disease. The Barwon Infant Study (BIS) is a cohort of 1074 infants assembled using an unselected antenatal sampling frame which has incorporated longitudinal assembly of the most complete array of of microbial samples of any birth cohort study in the world. We have recently established compelling evidence in BIS of an association between maternal carriage of the bacterium Prevotella Copri during pregnancy and decreased allergic disease in the offspring. Prevotella are a group of organisms that have become strikingly less common in Westernised populations.

This PhD program will provide the candidate with the opportunity to extend this preliminary evidence by working with supervision team at Deakin University, the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark to further characterise the maternal microbiome using metagenomic deep sequencing techniques. The project will combine cutting edge bioinformatics and mechanistic investigation with a well designed epidemiological study.

The University of Copenhagen – Deakin University joint PhD program offers research students an unparalleled international experience, working alongside world-class researchers across two continents. Joint degree students spend time working with their supervisors at both universities. As a result, they gain unique exposure to different cultural and scientific environments and substantially increase their employability after graduation. Upon completion of the joint degree program, students receive a dually badged internationally recognised doctoral degree from both institutions.