Molecular epidemiology of aquaculture pathogens by whole genome analysis (WGS-aqua Plus), BBSRC SWBio, PhD in Biosciences studentship (Funded)

The SWBio DTP is one of the 12 Doctoral Training Partnerships funded by the BBSRC to provide PhD training in areas of their strategic relevance. The SWBio DTP is a consortium comprising the Universities of Bristol (lead), Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, and Rothamsted Research. Together, these institutions present a distinctive cadre of bioscience research staff and students with established international, national and regional networks and widely recognised research excellence. For further details about the programme please see https://www.swbio.ac.uk/

Location: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter EX4 4QJ

With the global population estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, there is increased demand on the provision of food to support the world’s growing population. Projections suggest that food production will need to increase by 70% to meet growing demand, thereby placing enormous strains on agriculture and fisheries. However, land-based food production places competing demands on available land
for both agriculture and other expanding human activities. Whilst growth yields from all major cereals have been declining over the last
decades, food production from fisheries is increasing (current estimates are that 15 - 20% of all animal protein consumed comes from
fisheries). The outputs from fisheries have nearly quadrupled over the last 75 years with all growth in the sector coming from aquaculture alone since the 1990s. However, disease is a major growth restriction in this sector, rendering the industry partly uninsurable and unlikely to fulfil its potential to offer food security to the increasing world population. With the advance of fast and cheaper sequencing technologies, genome data of important pathogens can now be exploited to aid aquaculture disease management, molecular epidemiology, ecological modelling and bioinformatics. For the current project, the genomes of seven important aquaculture parasites have been sequenced and additiona geographical strains will need to be added to this list. We are looking for an enthusiastic biologist/bioinformatician with an interest in aquaculture to analyse this data to aid the aquaculture industry and inform government agencies to implement policies aimed at growing and protecting this important food sector.


For information on the entry requirements please see: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=3294