PhD Studentship: Engineering Clostridioides Difficile Bacteriophages for Therapeutic Application.

Location:  Milton Keynes Closing Date:  31 January, 2024 - 17:00 Project summary Are you interested in developing novel treatments for difficult-to-treat infections? In this PhD project, you will apply advanced genetics techniques to enhance the therapeutic potential of bacteriophages (phages) for combatting Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). CDI is the leading cause of hospital-associated diarrhoea in the developed world and is recalcitrant to conventional antibiotic therapy. Phage therapy represents an attractive alternative treatment strategy, although currently described phages require genetic enhancement to unlock their therapeutic potential. You will isolate phages with host range activity towards prominent C. difficile strains in the UK and characterise their receptor binding determinants. In parallel, you will endow a characterised phage with antibacterial effectors to promote killing activity and test these using invertebrate and murine models of infection. Informed by the novel phage isolations, you will modify host range activity towards prominent strains in the UK. This project offers training in synthetic biology, medical microbiology and anaerobic microbiology. Further information This three-year research studentship is funded by the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at The Open University and provides a stipend of £18,622 per year (2023/24 rate, indexed annually) and all academic fees are covered. The project is supervised by Dr Terry Bilverstone. The student would be required to live in the UK and within commuting distance of The Open University in Milton Keynes. Applicants will ideally have a First Class or Upper Second undergraduate degree or Masters degree in Microbiology, Biotechnology, Biomedical Science or similar subjects. Alternatively, a Bioinformatics graduate with wet-lab experience could be suitable. This project will be well-suited to candidates with: An interest in synthetic biology or medical microbiology subjects. Experience in microbiology or molecular biology laboratory techniques. Experience of presenting research data including written reports and oral presentations. Willingness to travel to the USA for a short research visit (~1 month) in the final year, subject to funding. Informal enquiries relating to the project should be directed to Dr Terry Bilverstone email: terry.bilverstone@open.ac.uk. How to Apply Please send an email with your CV, a completed application form and a personal statement (max. 2 pages outlining your suitability for the studentship, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date) to STEM-LHCS-PHD@open.ac.uk You can find more information in the following link: http://www.open.ac.uk/science/life-health-chemical-sciences/phd-studentships-vacancies Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) – Where a student neither comes from one of the countries listed in Table 1 or has a degree from one of the countries listed in Table 2 they will have to pass one of the Home Office approved English language tests, at an approved test centre. See further information here. We recommend an IELTS SELT Consortium test. Interview date: Online Interviews will be arranged promptly after the closing date. Final Funding Decision: March 2024. This is part of a pooled School process, so the selected applicant will be put forward to a reviewing panel in March for final decisions. Applicants will be notified if they are selected and will be informed of the panel decision afterwards. LHCS holds Athena Swan Bronze Status. We promote diversity in employment and welcome applications from all sections of the community.