PhD Studentship in Computing: Comparative Interactomics for Synthetic Bacterial Systems

Award Summary

100% Home fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £17,668 (2022-23 UKRI rate)

Overview

Interested in the intersection between systems biology and engineering biology? This PhD will explore the effect of synthetic manipulation on cellular systems.

Engineering biology routinely produces proteins in bacteria which are not their natural host. Little work has investigated the systems-level, long-term effects of these new proteins on the cell. Computational approaches can be used to identify patterns of interactome rewiring, and allow these effects to be investigated, and potentially predicted.

This project will use computational prediction to produce a suite of bacterial interactomes. By optimising network accuracy via structural interactions, you will assess to what extent the production of novel proteins could affect the host interactomes. Can long-term adaptive changes/negative effects on the host be predicted?

The research will be carried out as part of the Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems research group.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

September 2023

Award Duration

3.5 years

Application Closing Date

09 June 2023

Sponsor

School of Computing, Newcastle University

Supervisors

Dr Katherine James (School of Computing)

Dr Simon Cockell (School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sports Sciences)

Eligibility Criteria

You should have, or expect to gain, a 2.1 honours degree, or international equivalent, in a relevant subject (eg life sciences, computing science) and a distinction level Masters degree in a related subject eg bioinformatics or synthetic biology. An ideal student will have sound programming skills, preferably in Java, and an interest in synthetic biology and bioinformatics. Equivalent experience will be considered.

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

The studentship covers fees at Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8050F
• Research Area: Computing Science
• Select PhD Computer Science (full time) as the programme of study 

 You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:  

•  A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  
• The studentship code COMP2141 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• When prompted regarding your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal

Contact Details

Dr Katherine James School of Computing

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