Please bring this studentship opportunity to the attention of final
year undergraduates and other potentially interested parties.


BBSRC and MRC MRes/PhD Studentship - Statistical Modelling and
Inference of Complex Genetic Interactions in Budding Yeast

   * Newcastle University, UK
   * Reference Code: IAH10

Details:

Supervisors: Professor Darren Wilkinson and Professor David Lydall
Institute: Institute for Ageing and Health
Duration of the award: 4 years (MRes Medical and Molecular Biosciences
followed by a three-year PhD)
Start date: September 2010

Ageing is a complex phenomenon and can best be described as a
progressive failure of cell maintenance/repair pathways. We are using
systematic and high-throughput approaches to study these pathways in
the model organism budding yeast. The robotic facilities available
within Newcastle's Centre for Integrated Systems Biology of Ageing and
Nutrition (CISBAN) enable us to study many thousands of yeast mutant
strains simultaneously.

Data generated by the robotic technology varies but most typically
consists of images of plates containing spots in 384-spot format with
each spot representing the growth of a different yeast mutant strain.
Image analysis can be used to extract a quantitative measure of growth
for each spot, but the resulting data set is large, and has a complex
structure requiring sophisticated statistical modelling for
satisfactory analysis.

This project will consider the development of appropriate statistical
models for data normalisation and analysis leading to the
identification of sets of genes which show unusual interactions with
genes of interest, taking into account the issues of multiple testing.
Bayesian generalised hierarchical linear models will be developed for
simultaneous normalisation and analysis, correcting for plate and
spot-location effects. These will be coupled to dynamic models of
colony growth allowing probabilistic inference to be made regarding
the presence and magnitude of genetic interactions. Software for
analysis will be developed using the R statistical programming
language, and incorporated into the BioConductoR suite of
bioinformatics packages.

The successful candidate will develop a range of important skills at
the life-sciences interface (including basic wet-lab skills). The
statistical methods developed will be applied to data being generated
within CISBAN to help identify and characterise eukaryotic genes
involved in cell maintenance and cell repair pathways.

Person Specification
You should have, or expect to achieve, an upper-second-class Honours
degree, or equivalent, in mathematical sciences or a closely related
discipline. An interest in the applications of computational
statistical methods to problems in modern biology is essential.

Value of the Award and Eligibility
MRC and BBSRC eligibility criteria apply and you must have a relevant
connection to the UK. Depending on how you meet the criteria, you may
be entitled to a full award (covers fees and an annual stipend which
was £13,290 for 2009) or a partial award (covers fees only).

How to Apply
To apply for the studentship please complete the University's online
postgraduate application form, selecting 'Master of Research/Doctor of
Philosophy (Medical Sciences)', and quoting the reference
number IAH10. Please attach a copy of your CV and a covering letter to
your application.

Closing date for applications: this post is only available until a
suitable candidate is appointed so early application is advised.

Further details:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/search/list/iah10

-- 
Prof Darren Wilkinson
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http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/d.j.wilkinson/