University of Bristol Biological Sciences PhD Research Projects PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Supervisor: Prof K Reyher

Public health surveillance programmes routinely collect vast amounts of pathogen genomics data each year. A pressing issue is how to best utilise this information for effective disease monitoring and management. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

4-year PhD Studentship: Multiscale comparative analysis of habitat selection by large carnivores in northern Botswana

Supervisor: Prof M Eisler

About 38% of Botswana’s land area is reserved for wildlife conservation (Winterbach et al., 2014), providing important habitat for large carnivores and allowing for the study of intact large carnivore guilds. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

4-year PhD Studentship: Impact of the microbial biodiversity and micro-ecological processes on the transmission and persistency of diseases in dairy farms: a multidisciplinary, adaptive research approach

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Soil provides the basic structure for the development of the ecosystem where humans and animals live. Soil microbiota, including different pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms, are responsible for the health and maintenance of the ecosystem, creating the greatest biodiversity in the world. Read more

Supervisor: Dr B Amato

4-year PhD Studentship: Combatting bacterial zoonoses through multi-disciplinary studies of virulence factors

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Vector-borne diseases, including bacterial zoonoses, pose a significant threat to human and animal health and to livestock industries, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Read more

Supervisor: Dr T Cogan

4-year PhD Studentship: Cats’ perspective and welfare associated with outdoor access

Supervisor: Dr E Blackwell

Although freedom of movement is a key pillar of animal welfare, and outdoor access is considered the best way to allow cats to exercise and express natural behaviours1, restrictions often apply to owned cats. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

4-year PhD Studentship: Antimicrobial resistance dynamics and antimicrobial use in wildlife rehabilitation facilities in the United Kingdom

Supervisor: Dr F Sanchez-Vizcaino Buendia

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest global public health threats of the 21st century (Prestinaci et al. 2015). To mitigate this urgent challenge, a One Health approach (i.e., with integrated actions across the human, animal and environmental interface) is needed. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

The genetic map of human molecular phenotypes

Supervisors: Dr J Min, Dr G Hemani, Dr JH Hawe

Rationale. Genome wide associations studies (GWASs) have discovered many genetic associations with a large range of human traits, but the functional consequences of GWAS signals often remain elusive, as most GWAS signals reside in non-coding genomic regions. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Estimating the global cancer burden due to low levels of physical activity

Supervisors: Dr S Lewis, Prof R Martin, Dr R Pulsford, Prof R Jago, Dr FB Bray

Rationale. Around 40% of all cancers are thought to be avoidable by modification of lifestyle factors. Obesity has been found to be a risk factor for several cancers and was estimated to have caused around 3.6% of all new cancers which occurred in 2012. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Prospectively mapping the development of liver disease amongst young adults. Who is developing it early and why?

Supervisors: Dr KA Abeysekera, Prof M Hickman, Prof N Timpson

Rationale. Historically, cirrhosis (irreversible liver scarring), often due to alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), presents in the 5th and 6th decade. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

The genetics of human scarring – cross-cutting approaches to the understanding of human wound repair.

Supervisors: Prof N Timpson, Prof P Martin

Rationale. Repair of adult tissues involves a complex interplay of several key cell lineages and inevitably leads to formation of a fibrotic collagenous scar. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

How does parental education increase risk to ADHD in the offspring?

Supervisors: Dr E Stergiakouli, Dr L Howe, Dr AH Havdhal

Rationale. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental condition, characterised by persistent difficulties in the areas of attention span/impulse control. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Development of methods to triangulate multiple sources of evidence.

Supervisors: Prof J Higgins, Prof K Tilling, Prof M Munafo

Rationale. Triangulation, in which multiple methods are strategically used to answer a single question, is a currently developing area. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Identifying causal risk factors and outcomes of atopic dermatitis

Supervisors: Dr A Budu-Aggrey, Dr L Paternoster

Rationale. Several traits such as cardiovascular disease[1] and mental health disorders[2] have been reported to be observationally associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Identifying DNA methylation signatures of prostate cancer progression and mortality among patients with clinically confirmed, localised disease at baseline in a large prospective clinical trial

Supervisors: Dr P Yousefi, Prof R Martin, Dr M Suderman, Dr A Lane, Dr SM Merriel

Rationale. Prostate Cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of male mortality, with 336,000 deaths worldwide each year (1). Although most PCa cases are indolent, slow-growing, and tend not to progress, a subset of PCa cases are more aggressive and will progress to metastases, treatment resistance and death. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Investigating the genetic architecture of orofacial cleft: A genome-wide association study using trio data and an investigation of parent of origin and mother-children interaction effects.

Supervisors: Dr S Lewis, Dr E Stergiakouli, Prof H Cordell

Rationale. Orofacial clefts (OFCs) are the most prevalent craniofacial congenital disabilities globally, occurring at a frequency of 1 out of 700 newborns. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)