Newcastle University has huge a campus in England and widely known as for its contribution in top notch education and research. The contribution of Newcastle University is not only limited to natural sciences and engineering but it also offers high quality research as well as higher education in bio-medical sciences, social sciences, humanities, psychology, education, architecture etc.

1. PhD Studentship: Towards an Artificial Operator: Hybrid Reactor Modelling for Enhanced Process Control

Summary of Doctoral Project:

The transition to net zero will push the chemical industry to smaller, more remote plants operating intermittently requiring a step change in process automation and control. An artificial operator will steer the plant control system through changes in feedstock availability and maximise catalyst lifetime, as human operators currently do. This PhD project will explore hybrid approaches to reactor modelling which will be necessary to achieve this step change. Hybrid approaches seek to combine data-driven modelling, which are more readily incorporated into plant diagnostic and control systems, with the basic physical laws. Existing data-driven approaches are not constrained by conservation laws, so can predict impossible situations and are not robust on extrapolation. Existing fundamental models are complex and often ill-constrained, time consuming to develop, and cannot be transferred between processes. Hybrid models can be developed to a complexity appropriate to data available.

Last Application Date: 31 August 2022

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2. PhD Studentship: Constructing a new LEGO® set of protein building blocks

Summary of Doctoral Project:

Just as LEGO blocks can be assembled into complex structures, there has been much interest in using nature’s macromolecules as building blocks for the synthesis of well-defined and functional nanostructures. Proteins make potentially exciting building blocks because they display powerful functional properties, however, the assembly of proteins is challenging on account of their chemical complexity and the lack of general reactions that can efficiently link them into larger structures. At Newcastle we have shown (Chem, 2020, 6, 3132–3151) how the interaction between a protein called Caf1 can be modulated to drive protein assembly and disassembly. The aim of this project is to build upon these findings and develop Caf1 as a building block for the construction of well-defined structures. We will expand the palette of Caf1-based building blocks through structural mutagenesis, and through kinetic and thermodynamic studies understand how the mutations influence the protein-protein interaction. With this understanding, we will then use our palette of protein building blocks to build more complex architectures e.g. functionalized polymers, cyclic oligomers. The project will appeal to those interested in applying ideas in self-assembly to solve challenges at the chemistry-biology interface, and will provide training in protein synthesis/characterization, biophysics, chemical kinetics and methods to characterize nanostructures. The project will be performed in the groups of Dr David Fulton (Chemistry) and Prof Jeremy Lakey (Biosciences Institute) at Newcastle University. Applications welcome from students with background in chemistry or any area of bioscience. Start date would be September 2022, but applicants who could start in January or April 2023 are also welcome.

Last Application Date: 15 August 2022

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3. PhD Studentship in Ecology and Conservation – Quantifying species recovery following threat abatement

Summary of Doctoral Project:

Interested in the impact of conservation action on endangered species? This PhD project will investigate the how threat reduction activities can change the conservation status of species at risk of extinction. The overall aim of this PhD position is to understand and quantify the responses of endangered species to threat abatement activities. The project outcomes will provide evidence to inform decision making for threatened species conservation. The project will use analytical and modelling techniques to address key objectives, including: · Testing the assumption that a reduction in threats results in species recovery at the site level · Investigating the ability of local, site-level action to contribute to an overall reduction in species extinction risk · Identifying what is needed, in terms of data and local information, to make informed site-level management decisions for species conservation. The project will draw upon global data for threatened species and will work with partners at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to ensure that outcomes meet the needs of decision makers. The student will develop quantitative data analysis and modelling skills, and gain experience of translating scientific outcomes into practice and communicating with conservation stakeholders.

Last Application Date: 13 August 2022

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4. PhD Studentship in Chemistry – Exploration of Ionic Conduction in Palmierites

Summary of Doctoral Project:

Ensuring reliable, clean energy sources is one of the greatest challenges facing society today. Hydrogen fuel cells offer a real solution: the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen produces water and electricity, providing a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Ceramic fuel cells are highly efficient and do not require ultra-pure hydrogen or expensive electrodes. An important ambition is to lower the running temperature of ceramic fuel cells to £ 600 °C as this will reduce costs and increase reliability and lifetime. To reach this important goal, further fundamental research is urgently needed to discover new oxide ion/proton conductors with high conductivity at temperatures £ 600 °C to be used as the electrolyte in the cell. In this regard, we have been investigating a family of chemical compounds known as palmierites and have shown for the first time that the palmierite compound Sr3V2O8 presents significant oxide ion and proton conductivity. This is an exciting new direction in solid-state chemistry research. We have a PhD studentship available to further investigate ionically conducting palmierites which is fully funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Last Application Date: 25 August 2022

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5. PhD Studentship in Biology: Exploring the Role of Nutrient Transport Mechanisms in Models of Animal-Microbe Symbiosis

Summary of Doctoral Project:

Understanding how symbiotic relationships between microorganisms and host animals are maintained is key to our understanding of how their physiology, ecological dynamics, evolutionary processes and, ultimately, survival are influenced. This project will investigate symbiotic partnerships using complementary molecular biological, physiological and computational techniques. Animals rely on microbes to fulfil vital biological functions such as the production of essential nutrients. For example, symbiotic bacteria in many insects supply their host with essential amino acids lacking in the host’s diet. These insect-microbe relationships have evolved over millions of years and often neither the insect nor microbe can survive independently of the other partner. However, the molecular mechanisms which enable the interactions between animals and their symbiotic microbiome are not yet well understood. Insects and their obligatory microorganisms not only provide excellent models to better understand these tightly controlled processes, but studying such models also enables the development of novel strategies for the control of vector-borne diseases and for crop protection.

Last Application Date: 15 August 2022

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6. PhD Studentship – Addressing challenges in investigating causal relationships between environment and healthy ageing

Summary of Doctoral Project:

This project will focus on investigating the environmental impact on disability and health conditions in older people and addressing methodological challenges related to quantitative analysis. Based on the World Health Organization, the concept of ‘healthy ageing’ is defined as ‘the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age’. This is made up of the interaction between intrinsic capacity, which combines all the individual’s physical and mental conditions, and the environment, which form the context of an individual’s life. To investigate how the environment can support healthy ageing, recent epidemiological research has highlighted the potential for integrating geospatial data (e.g., green spaces, land use mix, local services) and ageing cohorts and investigating the relationships between a wide range of environmental factors and health conditions in older people. However, there are many methodological challenges in quantifying the complex impact of environmental factors on disability and health in older age. To enhance quantitative evidence and inform policies and practices related to age-friendly environments, it is essential to address multiple issues in statistical (longitudinal analysis, measurement errors), epidemiological (confounding effects, selection bias, unit interference) and ageing research (loss to follow-up, relocation, mortality). The PhD student will utilise existing environmental data and cohort studies and choose to investigate some of these issues based on their interests. The student will be involved in the impact of the Environment and Pollution on Cognitive Health (EPOCH): Building the knowledge base through international collaboration project, a UK-Australia collaborative project focusing on the complex relationships between the built environment, air pollution and cognitive health in later life.

Last Application Date: 25 August 2022

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7. PhD in Cancer Biology – The relationship between uptake and efflux transporters in Breast Cancer

Summary of Doctoral Project:

Transporter proteins confer on cells the ability to uptake and efflux different molecules. These include the solute carrier (SLC) superfamily (incorporating the SLCO and the SLC22A families), which mediate solute uptake into cells, and the ABC family, which mediates efflux out of cells. These transporter families are important in breast cancer (BC) and in breast imaging, because certain members of these families transport estrogens, anticancer drugs, and MRI contrast agents. Thus transporters conceivably play a role in BC pathogenesis, treatment, and radiological diagnosis. Our previous work on ABC transporters has shown upregulated expression of members of the ABC family in hormonally-regulated breast and ovarian cancer. We have shown partial reversal of paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer cells via inhibition of ABCB1-expressing cancer stem cell population known as side population (SP) cells. We have reported that MCF7 (hormone responsive) and MDA-MB-231 (hormone non-responsive) BC cell lines contain SP cells, the MCF7 SP cells having increased expression of ABCG2 and increased resistance to the chemotherapeutic drug mitoxantrone, compared to the MCF7 non-SP cells (NSP). In this project the student will explore the functional role of these transporters in the context of both BC and breast imaging, as well as increasing our understanding of transporter expression in different histological subtypes of BC.

Last Application Date: 20 August 2022

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8. EPSRC iCASE PhD Studentship: AI on the edge: Real-time sea level and wave field calculations on the Mayflower Autonomous Ship

Summary of Doctoral Project:

This project involves the optimisation of the processing and analysis of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to determine accurate measurements of the sea surface from the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS: https://mas400.com/). This is a new fully autonomous, uncrewed ocean research vessel that will be the first such ship to make a trans-Atlantic crossing. The MAS enables oceanographic research opportunities over large areas. Data collected from high precision GNSS receivers installed on such research cruises enables the measurement of sea surface height, and hence wave heights and tides to be obtained. Previously, such experiments involved the processing and analysis of data post-mission, e.g. months later. However, the development of AI aided onboard near real-time (NRT) data processing, and quality control procedures are essential for applications such as storm surge and tsunami warning systems.

Last Application Date: 15 August 2022

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