List of projects offered for the Ker Memorial PhD Studentship. Students should apply for ONE of the projects listed. Full details of each project can be found through link to FindaPhD. Applicants can apply for one of the projects listed below. Please contact the primary supervisor to discuss the project before submitting your application (name is hyperlinked to their email address). How to apply More details about all projects can be found on FindaPhD through the links given below. Project summaries Aligning Legal and Biological Temporalities in the (Anticipatory) Governance of Infectious Disease in the UK Supervisors: Martyn Pickersgill (Usher Institute) and Anne-Maree Farrell (School of Law) Outline: Aligning legal frameworks with biological realities is a vital, yet often under-appreciated and under-studied, element of infection control. Through critical social-legal analysis of key case studies, this project will examine how such alignments have been enabled to-date, and with what successes and limitations - generating clear recommendations for future epidemics. **Candidates interested in applying for this PhD project must email Professor Pickersgill BEFORE 30 June to discuss interests/suitability** More information on FindaPhD Bovine lungworm in a changing climate; epidemiology and sustainable control in the face of reduced anthelmintic efficacy Supervisors: Dave Bartley (Moredun Research Institute) and Darren Shaw (Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Outline: Is the epidemiology of bovine lungworm changing, how does this influence treatment/control advice and how do we best disseminate advice to stakeholders? What is the current state of play of lungworm and anthelmintic resistance/efficacy in UK cattle? More information on FindaPhD Characterising mechanisms of mononuclear phagocyte recruitment to the lung and their localisation specific function in respiratory viral infection Supervisors: Jürgen Schwarze and Calum Bain (Centre for Inflammation Research) Outline: Lung mononuclear phagocytes are required and sufficient for helminth-induced early protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in mice. We seek to understand how their recruitment and localisation in the lung following infection (RSV, influenza) are controlled and how they contribute to early antiviral immune responses, and subsequent induction and resolution of inflammation. More information on FindaPhD Deciphering the impact of co-infection with bovine immunodeficiency virus on the immune response to bovine tuberculosis Supervisors: Jayne Hope (Roslin Institute) and Alastair Macrae (Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Outline: Bovine tuberculosis affects significant numbers of cattle, at huge economic loss and risk to human health, but the failure of diagnostics is not well understood. This project will examine co-infections with bovine immunodeficiency virus and the impact on immune responses in novel model systems in vitro and in infected animals. More information on FindaPhD How does the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, exploit its metabolic flexibility to enhance its virulence? Supervisors: Vasso Makrantoni and CJ Anderson (Centre for Inflammation Research) Outline: To understand how the crosstalk between two major cellular systems, the Ubiquitin-Proteasome degradation System and Metabolism, regulate fungal infection and impact on antifungal drug resistance. More information on FindaPhD Identifying focal points and functional relevance of host-microbe communication during tissue injury and repair Supervisors: CJ Anderson and Chris Lucas, Centre for Inflammation Research, Bioquarter Outline: Most tissue injuries involve the induction of regulated cell death within eukaryotic cells. The regulated cell death process during acute injury is instrumental for subsequent tissue health, as dying cells help re-wire the surrounding tissue to promote repair; however, it is unclear how bacterial exploitation of death-dependent signals influences the reparative process within microbe-facing tissues such as the intestine, lung, and skin. More information on FindaPhD Investigating the role of RNA binding proteins in the neglected tropical pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei Supervisors: Maddie Moule and Sander Granneman (School of Biological Sciences) Outline: The main goal of this project is to dissect how a putative bacterial RNA binding protein (RBP) contributes to the virulence of a deadly, and antibiotic resistant, human pathogen. Characterization of this gene has the potential contribute to the development of new antibiotics to help combat the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). More information on FindaPhD It’s about time! Ecology and evolution of circadian and seasonal rhythms in host-parasite interactions Supervisors: Sarah Reece and Amy Pedersen (School of Biological Sciences) Outline: Doing the right thing at the right time maximises fitness. Circadian clocks allow organisms to get their timing right every day. However, in adverse circumstances – such as infections - daily rhythms are often disrupted. The project will investigate to what degree this an adaptive (fitness maximising) strategy, while also exploring how infection interacts with resource limitation to shape whether circadian rhythms should be robust or flexible. More information on FindaPhD Killing time! How circadian immunity and resource availability interact during malaria infections Supervisors: Sarah Reece and Phil Spence (School of Biological Sciences) Outline: That the daily rhythms matter for interactions between species is well known, and the myriad daily rhythms of hosts (and vectors) offer opportunities for parasites to exploit and present dangers to evade, at certain times of day. Yet, how rhythms shape host-parasite-vector interactions, and why parasites express their own rhythms, are remarkably poorly understood. This project will focus on malaria infections, integrating concepts from theories of life history evolution, phenotypic plasticity, chronobiology, and immunology to understand how and why parasites have evolved rhythms. More information on FindaPhD Malaria and the Intestinal Immune Response Supervisors: Jason Mooney (School of Biological Sciences) and Neil Mabbott (Roslin Institute) Outline: This project aims to understand how malaria increases the risk of secondary bacterial infections, by investigating the consequences of malaria parasite infection on immune responses at the intestinal interface. More information on FindaPhD Phylogeography of foot-and-mouth disease viruses in Equatorial Africa Supervisors: Mark Bronsvoort (Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies), Mark Shaw (Pirbirght Institute), Stella Mazeri (Roslin Institute) Outline: What are the serotype and strain characteristics of Foot and Mouth viruses circulating in Equatorial Africa (EqA) and what can this tell us about the scale at which Foot and Mouth Disease virus (FMDv) persists in the region? What factors such as wildlife, livestock density, livestock ownership and management, animal contact networks etc are acting as drivers or barriers to spread of FMDv? More information on FindaPhD Structure and function of the mitochondrial DNA network in trypanosomatid parasites Supervisors: Achim Schnaufer (School of Biological Sciences) and Davide Michieletto (School of Physics and Astronomy & Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine) Outline: Trypanosome mitochondrial DNA (kinetoplast DNA) is the most complex organellar DNA network in nature and is a highly promising target for the development of novel drugs to treat trypanosomatid diseases. Using single-molecule imaging and genetic engineering methods, this project will investigate the structure and function of the trypanosome kinetoplast DNA in response to drugs and mutations. More information on FindaPhD Tracking the evolution, spread and key drivers of zoonotic diseases Supervisors: Lu Lu and Sam Lycett (Roslin Institute) and Ian Simpson (School of Informatics) Outline: This project aims to investigate the drivers of zoonotic pathogen evolution, spread patterns, and epidemic prevalence. It involves tracking the genetic evolution and spatio-temporal patterns of zoonotic pathogens, as well as forecasting their emergence and spread using machine learning techniques. The outcomes will inform risk surveillance and targeted prevention efforts. More information on FindaPhD Understanding drivers of disease in the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), a threatened UK native species Supervisors: Anna Meredith and Rob Ogden (Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Outline: This project will explore risk factors for disease occurrence in red squirrels in the UK, building on current work investigating their disease susceptibility and genetic diversity, and explore additional risk factors associated with the wider ecological context. More information on FindaPhD This article was published on 2024-06-20
