Biosciences: BBSRC Funded PhD Studentship: Metabolite Profiling of a Robust Cyanobacteria for Industrial BiotechnologyClosing date: 16 February 2015Swansea University's College of Science, in collaboration with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), invite applications for a 4 year PhD studentship.
Swansea University: Where bright futures begin
Project Supervisors:
- Academic - Dr Carole Llewellyn (Department of Biosciences, Swansea University)
- Academic - Dr Ed Dudley (College of Medicine, Swansea University)
- Science - Mr Steve Skill (Department of Biosciences, Swansea University)
- Industrial - Dr Steve Wilson (Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park)
The production of sustainable commodities using solar energy and CO2 emissions is a long term goal to complement and contribute to fossil fuel replacement as a source of genuinely renewable molecules and polymers. Microalgae and cyanobacteria are increasingly being recognised for their potential in industrial biotechnology for the production of sustainable materials. We have identified a robust cyanobacterial strain with proven industrial suitability and demonstrated that it produces potentially useful metabolites (TSB Project CCIF-CRD 200094). In this project, you will use metabolomics to better characterise the metabolome of this industrially robust strain during cultivation under different stress conditions.
- The PhD is an industrial biotechnology multi-disciplinary project based within the Department of Biosciences (Centre of Sustainable Aquatic Research) and working with the College of Medicine. You will gain experience in microalgal/cyanobacterial cultivation and experimental approach and specifically in using metabolomic techniques (GC-MS and LC-MS) encompassing target and non-target comparative profiling of intracellular and extracellular compounds, together with bioinformatics approaches. You will also gain industrial experience - especially in efficacy testing working with Unilever at their Colworth and Port Sunlight laboratories.
Eligibility
- Candidates must have at least an upper second class honours degree, or a master's degree, in a relevant discipline.
Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is open to UK/EU candidates only.
Funding
- The studentship covers the full cost of UK/EU tuition fees, plus a tax-free stipend of approximately £17,863 per annum (exact amount to be confirmed).
- This is a four year fully-funded Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Industrial CASE Partnerships (ICP) scholarship.
How to Apply
To apply for this studentship, please download the Research Scholarship Application Form and return it to the College of Science with the following:
- Academic references – all scholarship applications require two supporting references to be submitted. Please ensure that your chosen referees are aware of the funding deadline, as their references form a vital part of the evaluation process. Please either include these with your scholarship application or ask your referees to send them directly to [email protected]
- Academic transcripts and degree certificates
- CV
Applicants should use the ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ section of the application form to explain why the award they are applying for particularly matches their skills and experience and how they would choose to develop the project.
- Please email the documents to [email protected] or post them to:
| Recruitment and Marketing Team, College of Science,Wallace Building, Swansea University ,Singleton Park, Swansea,SA2 8PP |
- The deadline for applications is Monday 16th February 2015.
Read More
http://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/