Fully Funded EPSRC and Swansea PhD Scholarship: Patchy Sweet Bullets Against Bacteria

1 month ago

Swansea, City and County of Swansea, United Kingdom Swansea University Full time

Funding providers: EPSRC and Swansea University's Faculty of Science and Engineering

Subject areas: Polymer and Glyco Chemistry, Biomaterials, Antimicrobials

Project start date:

  • 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
  • 1 January 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-December)

Project supervisors:

  • Dr Sumati Bhatia )
  • Dr Joel Loveridge
  • Professor Thomas Wilkinson

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Chemistry

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description:

A significant phenotypic heterogeneity exists within the clonal bacterial population for adhesion to different surfaces. Bacteria even lacking adhesive lectins can bind to cells and cause infections. The objective of this studentship is focused on engineering heterogeneous glycosystems with patchy attributes to simultaneously target varied bacterial populations with high selectivity index.

The candidate will employ an exciting interdisciplinary approach, commencing with polymer and glycochemistry to engineer patchy glycosystems. These systems will be thoroughly characterized in our modern University laboratory using SEM, AFM, and TEM. The efficacy of these materials will be assessed against different bacterial strains in the Institute of Life Sciences at Swansea University. A comprehensive training programme will be provided by an interdisciplinary supervisory team's expertise in chemistry (Dr Bhatia), natural products (Dr Loveridge), and microbiology (Professor Wilkinson).

Funding Details

Additional Funding Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend at £19,237.

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

£19,237 p.a.