Find out more about self-funded PhD projects in areas of biomedical science.
We already have supervisors active and engaged in the research topic in our School of Life Sciences.
Fixed term contract for 3 years, commencing September 2024.
Bursary of £19,237 per annum and a full fee-waiver for UK tuition fees.
Closing date: 31 May 2024
Interview date: TBC June 2024
About Anglia Ruskin University:
Anglia Ruskin is a vibrant workplace and our university is recognised both nationally and internationally. We have ambitious plans for the future, and we are determined that our students and staff will realise their full potential. Our main campuses in the cities of Cambridge, Chelmsford, London and Peterborough have been transformed with major capital investment. With an annual turnover of over £200m, we are a major force for higher education and one of the largest universities in the East of England.
About the position:
This project is an exciting opportunity for a PhD student to work in the cutting-edge research area of enzymatic plastic degradation in labs at both ARU and the Christie lab at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.
Plastic pollution is threatening ecosystems, human health, and the economy. Despite existing mechanical and chemical plastic recycling pathways, most plastic waste enters landfill or is incinerated, contributing to the generation of micro- and nanoplastics. The identification of enzymes that break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (PETases) has the potential to design environmentally friendly and economical recycling strategies, by making recycled PET from its monomers without loss of quality. It is likely the PETases identified so far account for a small proportion of those found in nature, particularly in the “plastisphere”, partly as not all microbes are culturable. This project aims to address this knowledge gap by screening environmental isolates and eDNA for novel PETases and other plastic degrading enzymes. Synthetic biology approaches will then be adopted to incorporate PETases into bacterial spores. This bioengineering approach will provide a platform for PETase expression and display with tolerance to environmental factors that would otherwise denature non-immobilised proteins.
This project has 4 key tasks:
About the Studentship:
A 3-year studentship is offered, intended to start in September 2024, providing a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is only available as a full-time position and to UK candidates.
Project location: Cambridge campus. Prospective candidates who would not be Cambridge-based are encouraged to contact the principal supervisor prior to application (contact details below).
Candidates for this PhD Studentship must demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD within 3 years.
Qualifications:
Applicants should have a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree in a relevant discipline and a relevant level 7 (or equivalent) qualification (e.g., Masters degree). An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (or equivalent) is essential for candidates for whom English is not their first language.
In addition to satisfying basic entry criteria, the University will look closely at the qualities, skills, and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful and timely completion.
How to apply:
To apply, please visit Biomedical Science PhD, click 'Apply online' and complete the application form for full-time study with a start date of January 2024. Please ensure the reference 'PhD Studentship: Identification, characterisation and novel expression of plastic-degrading enzymes in bacterial spores' is clearly stated on the application form, under the title ‘Outline of your proposed research’.
Within this section of the application form, applicants should include a 500-word outline of the skills that they would bring to this research project and detail any previous relevant experience.
Interested applicants should direct initial queries about the project to Dr Helen McRobie via email: [email protected]. For enquiries regarding the process and eligibility please contact [email protected].
Interviews are scheduled to take place in June 2024.
We value diversity at Anglia Ruskin University and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Closing Date 31 May 2024.
Prof David Leake (University of Reading)
Translational Biomedicine
Background: Macrophages play a critical role in homeostasis and diseases. They can change their phenotype to perform differential activities in different phases of inflammatory response.
Polarized macrophages are broadly classified into two groups:
It has been demonstrated that M1/M2 switch plays critical role in inflammation which is dependent on various factors such as bioavailability of different subsets of monocytes and macrophages, sequential monocytes recruitment into the tissue in the process of inflammation or response to different conditions. Furthermore, the misbalance of M1/M2 switch can lead to chronic inflammatory diseases. Undoubtedly the generation of novel anti-inflammatory drugs regulating M1/M2 switch is an important step for pharmacological intervention of chronic inflammatory-based diseases. Unfortunately, the current drug screening strategies are not based on macrophage polarization. The development of a phenotypic macrophage high-throughput assay will provide a platform for screening of pro or anti-inflammatory properties of the candidate molecule (preclinical drug validation) or FDA approved drugs library and selected compound libraries with known anti-inflammatory activity (clinical drug validation).
Main goal and objectives: The main goal of the study is to develop and validate a novel phenotypic macrophage high-throughput cell-based assay for anti-inflammatory drug screening activity. The two main objectives are:
Methodology: Cell culture and cell-based essays, western blotting, ELISA approaches.
Collaborations: This project is based on academic and industrial collaborations with Reading University and Innaxon, UK respectively.
Outcomes: Results from this project will evaluate the potential of the phenotypic macrophage high-throughput assay for drug screening as well as provide important information about the effect of the candidate molecules on macrophage polarisation and will contribute to their preclinical/clinical validation. This will represent a finding of great public and commercial impact as currently there are no macrophage cell-based phenotypic assays for drug screening. The proposed project will have a commercial value and we plan to secure protection of the arising intellectual property.
This project is self-funded.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you will need to apply for our Biomedical Science PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
Biomedicine and Environmental Pollution
Background: Plastic production has risen from 1.5 to 450 million tons annually since the 1950’s and is set to double by 2045. The total weight of plastic on Earth already exceeds the overall mass of all land and marine animals and plastic pollutants have altered Earth’s processes to an extent that exceeds the threshold under which humanity can survive in the future (i.e., surpassing the planetary boundary). Micro and nano plastics are the most abundant form of solid waste on Earth on average, humans are exposed to an estimated 39,000 to 121,000 particles per year via ingestion of contaminated food, beverages and drinking water via inhalation. The World Health Organization recently concluded that although NMP may pose a threat to human health, we need more evidence on their potential effects, especially concerning the lower size range (nano) of particles. In response to concerns about conventional plastics, demand for biodegradable bio-based plastics is increasing. Many of these plastics do not rapidly degrade in the natural environment and can persist as NMP and can have the same negative impacts as conventional plastics. The impacts of biodegradable NMP on human health has not been tested. Based on current knowledge on NMP toxicity and hazard there are substantial gaps and future research needs. Most of the studies are based on NMP without any characterisation of their physico-chemical properties (size, shape, charge etc.) which create difficulties in interpretation of their toxicological profile. Secondly, a high number of studies have employed very high concentrations of NMP which do not reflect on real environmental conditions. Although toxicological studies have shown that NMP exposure may lead to health risk there is a lack of evidence that this can negatively affect the immune system which is primary related to measurement of human health risks. Therefore, future research must be focused on biokinetics and proinflammatory and toxicological properties of environmentally relevant NMP with well characterised physico-chemical properties consistent with their environmental degradation.
Main goal: This project will investigate the proinflammatory and toxicological properties on NMP generated from conventional and future biodegradable plastics.
There are three main objectives:
Methodology: Cell culture and cell-based essays, western blotting, ELISA, Flow Cytometry and antibody array approaches.
Collaborations: This project is based on national and international academic collaborations with University of Milano-Bicocca and Reading University.
Outcomes: The results from this project will be used to consolidate international networking and national and international collaborations and to apply for EU Horizon (Micro- and nano-plastics in our environment: understanding exposures and impacts on human health) and will build on the success of the REF2027 Impact Case Study by Dr Green “Reducing the impacts of single use plastics”. This research also compared conventional and biodegradable plastics but on environmental compartments as opposed to human health.
This project is self-funded.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you will need to apply for our Biomedical Science PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.