Fully-funded PhD studentship in Bioinformatics at Plymouth, England
To apply please visit http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AMX102/3-year-phd-studentship-full-time-active-human-retrotransposons-and-neurodegenerative-disease/
Details
The Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine & Dentistry are seeking to attract PhD candidates of outstanding ability to join their exciting and rapidly expanding programme of internationally-rated research. Medical research at Plymouth was placed first in outputs in REF2014 (13th overall). The position will be based within the Biomedical Research Group (https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/research/crtb).
Applications are invited from suitably qualified graduates, 2:1 or above. International students must also have an IELTS score of 7.0 or above (or equivalent qualification).
Approximately half of the human genome is made up of repetitive sequences known as transposable elements (TEs). This project will concentrate on the subclass of TEs that are still copying within the human population known as L1s. Active L1 elements are responsible for new insertions which can create deleterious sequence variants and aberrant expression within the human genome. Ninety six single locus disorders have been reported due to L1 activity in the germline. Recently, genome-scale approaches have shown that retrotransposition also occurs at a high frequency in somatic cells, with events being documented in the brain and tumours. There is accumulating evidence that active L1s play a role in disease. The successful candidate will investigate germline L1s using both 'in-house' and novel bioinformatic approaches to interrogate whole genome sequencing data for differential germline patterns in neurodegenerative disorder case control datasets.
Funding Notes
The stipend will be approximately £14,057 (based on full time 15/16 rate). Tuition fees will be paid at the home/EU rate. Candidates who are not eligible for Home/EU fees will be liable for the difference between 'home student fees' and 'international student fees'. For the 15/16 academic year the difference in fee is £10,800. If you are selected you will be required to provide financial assurances.
If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Dr Elaine Green, elaine.green@plymouth.ac.uk. However, applications must be made in accordance with the details shown below.
General information about applying for a research degree at Plymouth University is available at https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/your-studies/the-graduate-school/applicants-and-enquirers
You can apply via the online application form which can be found at https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/postgraduate and click 'Apply'.
Please mark it FAO Rebecca Rose, quoting reference number PUPSMD-0116/CA and clearly state that you are applying for a PhD studentship within the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine & Dentistry.
For more information on the admissions process contact Rebecca Rose, email: sciengresearch@plymouth.ac.uk
The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 19th February 2015. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received an offer of a place by (25th March 2016) should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
