Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland (BioSS), with our partners in the 
EASTBio Doctoral Training Partnership 
(http://www.eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk/), is currently advertising three PhD 
studentship opportunities, suitable for candidates with a strong 
quantitative background who are interested in applying statistical, 
mathematical, and bioinformatics ideas to real-world problems in animal 
disease surveillance and modelling, both terrestial and aquatic, or in 
ecosystem surveillance and modelling.


*Exploring the multilayer world: application of multilayer network 
analysis for livestock disease surveillance and control*

The Roslin Institute and BioSS have a long track record of working 
together within EPIC, the Scottish Government’s Centre of Expertise in 
Animal Disease Outbreaks.Past work has led to the development of network 
structures which describe a variety of inter-farm contacts which would 
be important in the event of a swine disease outbreak in Great 
Britain.The proposed project will seek to develop these insights 
further, integrating them into a multi-layer model, using full use of 
the very large volume of data available, and thus providing a more 
powerful analysis of the interplay between different types of contacts 
and the impact of these on the potential for future disease spread.This 
project will offers a successful applicant an opportunity to develop 
expertise in the analysis of networks, and to apply this knowledge to a 
highly relevant real-word epidemiological problem within a 
multi-disciplinary research team.Full details are available at:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/eastbio-exploring-the-multilayer-world-application-of-multilayer-network-analysis-for-livestock-disease-surveillance-and-control/?p114326 
<https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/eastbio-exploring-the-multilayer-world-application-of-multilayer-network-analysis-for-livestock-disease-surveillance-and-control/?p114326>

*Application of MinION Nanopore sequencing to understand the impact of 
environmental changes on sentinel indicators of ecosystem health*

Registered with St Andrews University, and in collaboration with the 
Moredun Institute and BioSS, this exciting multidisciplinary PhD project 
will use a sentinel wildlife species, in this case, the grey seal, to 
identify key indicators of environmental health and resilience. Using 
the latest in long-read high-throughput sequencing technology, the 
successful applicant will quantify the impact of anthropogenic 
environmental contamination on both environmental samples and on the 
grey seal microbiome and gut health. The project will identify bacterial 
and viral pathogens and antimicrobial resistance and heavy metal 
resistance genes, modelling transmission routes through the environment, 
and the impact of changing climate conditions on disease reservoirs. 
Bioinformatics data analysis pipeline development and statistical 
modelling to integrate datasets are both key aspects of this project, 
which will require a candidate with strong quantitative and 
computational skills.Full details are available at:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/eastbio-application-of-minion-nanopore-sequencing-to-understand-the-impact-of-environmental-changes-on-sentinel-indicators-of-ecosystem-health/?p114921

*Enhanced operational approaches to emerging and endemic disease in 
farmed salmon in Chile*

BioSS and SRUC, a top rated centre for Agriculture, Veterinary and Food 
Science research in the UK’s most recent Research Excellence Framework 
assessment, have developed a wide range of modern and innovative 
modelling and computational statistical approaches to support better 
control of pests and disease in livestock. These methods include 
Bayesian computational statistical approaches to inference in stochastic 
processes. Through collaboration with our commercial partner, Landcatch, 
this studentship will further develop such techniques in the context of 
disease threats to aquaculture and food security. The project offers a 
unique opportunity to develop widely applicable technical skills and 
build experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team. The successful 
applicant will be based at BioSS, on the King’s Building campus of the 
University of Edinburgh, and at SRUC in the Roslin Institute Building. 
Full details are available at:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/eastbio-enhanced-operational-approaches-to-emerging-and-endemic-disease-in-farmed-salmon-in-chile/?p115845

_
_

*Applications procedure*

All applicants should have or expect to have a minimum of an appropriate 
upper 2nd class degree. Application and reference request forms can be 
downloaded from the links given above.

Candidates may contact [log in to unmask] 
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>for further information on PhD training 
at BioSS.

The closing date for applications is the *5th January 2020.*Following a 
short-listing process, candidates will be interviewed, and only if 
successful at interview will be offered a studentship.

Potential applicants should note the following eligibility criteria:

·Only UK/EU applicants are eligible to apply.

·EU applicants are only eligible to receive the full studentship if they 
have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of 
the studentship.

·EU applicants without the required history of residency in the UK are 
eligible to apply, but if successful would receive only the fees element 
of the studentship (not the stipend).


-- 

Iain McKendrick
Head of Consultancy
Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland

(Web Page: http://www.bioss.ac.uk/staff/iain.html)

Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) is formally part of The
James Hutton Institute (JHI), a registered Scottish charity No. SC041796
and a company limited by guarantee No. SC374831

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