Organisation/Company: Swansea University
Department: Central Research
Field: Biological sciences
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions: PhD Positions
Country: United Kingdom
Application Deadline: 24 Feb 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/London)
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Hours Per Week: 35
Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2025
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
It is imperative to use well-characterised, human-relevant in vitro models to assess air pollution exposure impact upon human health, and how it may develop disease. However, despite the known negative association of inhalation exposure to air pollution, the mechanisms of action by which air pollution impacts lung health are currently unclear. To elucidate this, using a physiologically relevant model of the lower airways, multi-omic analyses will provide a key tool to characterise mechanistic changes and assist in predicting the human health impact of exposure to different air pollutants.
The aim is to use multi-omic approaches to characterise the effects of air pollutants on an established in vitro model of the human lower lung, to reveal mechanistic insights associated with disease development.
Objectives:
* Create realistic pollutant exposure samples representing indoor and outdoor pollutants (mixtures) using an established model of the human alveolar epithelial barrier.
* Apply multi-omic approaches to assess differential gene expression and altered pathways associated with pollutant exposures, integrating this data to identify mechanisms associated with disease development.
This studentship will be hosted within the medical school at Swansea University in the labs of Dr Laura Thomas and Prof Martin Clift. The two research groups are based on the 4th floor of the Institute of Life Science 1 at the Singleton Campus. The groups consist of a mix of interdisciplinary academic researchers, PhD students, clinicians, and computer scientists who will all support the studentship. The successful student will be further supported by members of the wider 4th-floor research groups and existing industrial and academic collaborations.
This studentship will entwine three research strengths; genomics, toxicology, and in vitro approaches. It is a multidisciplinary project that will train the successful student in a number of highly desirable skills, both in the wet lab and computer science approaches. We are therefore seeking an enthusiastic graduate with an interest in toxicology, advanced cell models, and genomics. While full training will be given, previous experience with tissue culture, analysis of genomics data, bioinformatics approaches, or previous use of relevant platforms such as R are desirable.
Swansea University is pleased to offer fully-funded Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES) for full-time doctoral students to its seventh cohort, commencing in October 2025.
Each SURES scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities.
Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; SURES students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.
Informal scholarship enquiries from applicants to prospective supervisors – prior to the application deadline – are warmly encouraged; please direct these to the relevant member/s of faculty staff.
English Language Requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6.5 in each individual component) or equivalent that is recognised by Swansea University. Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here.
Please note that both the degree and language-proficiency entry requirements for SURES are higher than the baseline standard for entry that is stipulated for most of the PhD programmes at Swansea University.
Additional Information
This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).
Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.
Eligibility criteria:
Candidates must have achieved, or be expecting to achieve, a 1st class UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualification), or a 2:1 UK undergraduate degree and a Distinction in a UK master’s degree (or international equivalent).
Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study.
If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification with an expected award date that is later than 01/10/2025, you should hold a minimum of an upper-second-class (2:1) honours degree.
You should be able to demonstrate a pass with a minimum grade average of at least 70% for your part-one master’s degree modules (the taught aspect of your master’s course rather than a research-focused dissertation) and submit your dissertation by no later than 30/09/2025.
NB: If you hold a non-UK degree, please see the Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2025. As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible.
Selection process
Please see our website for further information.
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