PhD Studentships for 2012
in Viral Diseases of Livestock
The BBSRC Institute for Animal Heath has recently formed partnerships with a number of academic and commercial bodies to offer 5 studentships in viral diseases of livestock. These include the Universities of Glasgow, Leeds, London (Imperial College) and Warwick, and Biomimetics Health Industries UK.
These new partnerships offer students an exciting and exceptional opportunity to obtain a broad view of infectious disease research in a rich, stimulating and unique research environment. Students will have the opportunity to work with the different partners involved in their project, thereby giving them access to novel ways of tackling the problems of livestock diseases through interdisciplinary, cross-institutional approaches. This will be coupled to core skills training at the student’s host institutions, providing flexible training options and experiences that will support a wide range of career choices.
Student projects will investigate aspects of viral interaction with livestock hosts at the level of the molecule, cell, animal and population, and how these relationships lead to viral dissemination, disease, and death or recovery following the induction of protective immune responses. Systems biology and mathematical approaches will be an important part of the PhD programme.
Applications are therefore invited for the fully funded, 4-year studentships leading to a PhD degree in the area of viral diseases of livestock.
Full details of the projects available are accessible from the table below:
| Ref. No. |
Project Title and Supervisors |
Abstract |
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IAH 2012/1
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Quantitative dynamics of bluetongue virus within Culicoides biting midges
Dr Anthony Wilson (IAH)
Professor Peter Mertens (IAH)
Professor Massimo Palmarini (MRC‐University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research)
|
The rates of spread and replication of a virus within an arthropod vector determine when an infected vector becomes infectious. We hypothesise that virus migrates rapidly to a range of tissues within the body of the vector, rather than replicating to high levels within the lining of the midgut before spreading.
In order to address our hypothesis experimentally, we will use modified fluorescent virus particles to track the spread and replication of a virus within an insect vector - specifically, of bluetongue virus (BTV) within Culicoides midges. The data generated will be used to develop the first ever quantitative model of within-insect viral dynamics. …….more
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IAH 2012/2
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Genetic Diversity of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus
Dr Eleanor Cottam (IAH)
Dr Don King (IAH)
Professor Dan Haydon (University of Glasgow)
|
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes an economically devastating vesicular disease of domesticated and wild cloven-hoofed animals. Control of FMD is of huge significance worldwide and as a consequence a great deal is known about the structure, antigenicity, phylogeography and epidemiology of the virus. However, much less is known about the relationship between genome sequences and virus phenotypes that exist in nature. Indeed, few phenotypes are reliably characterised. The aim of this PhD project is to investigate the genetic and phenotypic differences between the 7 serotypes of FMDV. ….. These data will be used to deduce informative epidemiological insights into virus evolution, epidemiology and disease control......more
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IAH 2012/3
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The role of AKT activation during Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus infections
Dr Mark Fife (IAH)
Professor Paul Britton (IAH)
Dr Julian Hiscox (University of Leeds)
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Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K/AKT) plays a central role in the regulation of many cellular processes including proliferation, apoptosis and the innate immune response. A plethora of studies on human viral pathogens has confirmed the importance of AKT signalling on the outcome of viral infections; however few studies (apart from those on avian influenza A) have examined the involvement of this system in avian species. At a cellular level, AKT facilitates intracellular viral replication not only by promoting host cell survival, but also by modulating viral entry. AKT has been shown as fundamental to disease resistance in poultry; the impact of P13K/AKT signalling in avian viral diseases merits further investigation to enable a better understanding of diseases that impact on poultry production.
It is our aim to examine the effect of Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus on AKT signalling and to determine if subversion of this pathway supports viral replication differentially in the avian host......more
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IAH 2012/4
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Multi-scale inference of foot-and-mouth disease spread in the UK and Japan
Dr David Schley (IAH)
Dr Simon Gubbins (IAH)
Dr Michael Tildesley (University of Warwick)
|
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has a huge impact on the livelihoods of millions of people. It affects cloven-hoofed animals including cattle and sheep and results in reduced productivity and death. Understanding how the disease spreads is vital for the development of successful control strategies, and mathematical modelling is powerful tool in helping achieve this.
The University of Warwick has an established track record in the development of large scale stochastic models to simulate the potential for spread of animal diseases such as FMD and avian influenza. The Institute for Animal Health has a unique understanding of transmission and the pathogenesis of FMD. In collaboration, researchers have developed a state-of-the-art model that predicts how disease spreads at a national level based directly upon experimental data of how disease is transmitted between individual animals......more
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IAH 2012/5
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Avian Influenza Virus virulence factors
Dr Holly Shelton (IAH)
Professor Venugopal Nair (IAH)
Professor Wendy Barclay (Imperial College, London)
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Avian influenza makes frequent incursions into poultry populations resulting in economical and health burdens for farmers. In our fight to protect poultry populations from avian influenza it is important to understand any virulence factors in avian influenza strains so proper prevention and mitigation strategies can be developed. PB1-F2 is a 90 amino acid protein discovered in 2001 to be expressed from the second influenza genome segment in an alternative reading frame to the main PB1 polymerase protein. Since then, several different functions have been attributed to the protein including pro-apoptotic, interferon modulator, viral polymerase activity modulator and an inflammatory inducer......more
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Further information
The 5 studentships to be awarded provide for tuition fees and stipend depending on eligibility (see full project details accessible through the table above).
HOW TO APPLY
Please see here for How to apply application
General enquiries can be addressed to:
studentship.iah@iah.ac.uk
Deadline for receipt of applications:
Monday 28th May 2012
Interviews will be held in June 2012.