BBSRC Doctoral Training Grant Scheme
The College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences offers a 4-year PhD programme in Comparative Medicine with the goal to train a new generation of scientists equipped with modern tools to preserve and improve UK animal health. This is a multidisciplinary programme targeted to veterinary graduates and biomedical scientists committed to animal health, that will provide training "from the molecule, to the whole animal, and beyond to populations".
The core themes of our PhD programme are:
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Biology of Infectious Agents and Diseases [BIAD] (including basic molecular biology of pathogens; genomics, pathogenesis, ecology and evolution of infectious diseases)
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Pathology (including histopathology and molecular pathology)
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Quantitative Epidemiology, Statistics and Mathematical Modelling [QESM].
These themes are based on the recognized strengths of the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, and the School of Veterinary Medicine; our industrial partner is Novartis Animal Health.
This is a multidisciplinary programme that benefits from having within the same physical location a strong component of basic scientists, veterinary pathologists, clinicians, and the Comparative Epidemiology and Informatics group. To deliver these goals the "traditional" disciplines (e.g. molecular biology and biology of infectious agents and diseases, pathology) are put in the context of recent quantitative approaches in epidemiology, mathematical modelling and evolution of infectious diseases that have proved to be extremely important for the control and prevention of disease.
Specific Programme
Our training programme is structured on a one-plus-three year format centred on three connected primary themes and a set of generic scientific skills and responsibilities. During Year 1 students will receive formal intensive training delivered by teaching modules/practical sessions and laboratory placements. Completion of the first year will lead to a master's degree.
Year 1:
PHASE I: a 4-week introductory period with the aims to:
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provide introductory training sessions in the following areas: Biosafety, Ethics, Public Engagement, IT, Proper use of animals in research;
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introduce the investigators of the programme to the students. Each theme will be presented in "Meet the investigators" sessions. One of these sessions will be dedicated to our Industrial partners that will deliver a module on "Research in Industry". At the end of this phase students will choose the three research placements.
PHASE II: laboratory placements and teaching modules. The laboratory placements have the aim to expose students to different research environments. Students will be required to write a paper at the end of each placement in the format of a "short communication" and present their data in formal "research days".
Core supervisors for the rotations and PhD projects are:
Core Themes Teaching Modules:
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Theme 1: Biology of Infectious Agents and Diseases: Biology of Infectious Agents; Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases; Molecular Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases; Genomics of Pathogens; Phylogenetic trees: what they are and how can we make them.
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Theme 2: Pathology: From the post-mortem room to the research laboratory; histopathology; molecular pathology; Mouse pathology; clinical pathology.
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Theme 3: An Introduction to Quantitative Epidemiology; Geographic Information Systems; Modelling of endemic diseases; Statistics in biomedicine;
Teaching modules in the Generic Scientific Skills and Responsibilities: Intellectual Property; Business and the Biosciences; Commercialisation of technology; How to write and review scientific papers and proposals; Grant applications: from peer review to the funding committee;
Phase III: a final flexible "student-centred" period where students have the complete freedom to choose their activity. Students can extend one of the previous placements or decide to learn a new technique in another laboratory and/or spend more time refining their placement papers. In this period students will choose the laboratory and project for their PhD thesis in Years 2-4.
Years 2-4:
Years 2-4 will be dedicated to a traditional hypothesis-driven research project culminating with the writing of a PhD thesis. At the end of the first year students will decide in which laboratory (or laboratories) they will pursue their thesis. Synopsis of the projects will be presented to the Programme management group by the students in conjunction with the chosen supervisor (see below). During year 2-4 the student "community" will be kept together by biweekly journal clubs, institutional and student seminars.
Location and Facilities
Many of the rotations will be based within laboratories based at the School of Veterinary Medicine, located on the green field Garscube Estate which also houses the Beatson Cancer Research Institute, the West of Scotland Science Park and the University sports fields and gymnasium complex thus combining research, teaching, business and recreational facilities on one site. This environment nurtures a multidisciplinary research culture that is responsive to advances in technology and changes in priorities in the international arena including medicine and business. The campus also has an onsite library and dining facilities ensuring that all of our students' day-to-day requirements are provided on campus.
There have been recent infrastructure investments and commitments on the Garscube Estate of around £40 million, a substantial part of which is invested in the School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2005 our new research building, The Henry Wellcome Building for Comparative Medical Sciences, was officially opened. This new facility houses our research under one roof; it is a superb research building in its own right that forms links to other research active areas, and which will be added to with construction of a new building housing MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virology Research staff opening 2013. Research at Garscube is underpinned by excellent Veterinary Pathology and diagnostics labs allowing quick diagnosis and characterisation of disease, along with close links with clinical colleagues allowing a concerted research effort ranging from whole animal to molecular studies.
How to apply
To apply please contact the Graduate School at:
Henry Wellcome Building for Comparative Medical Sciences
464 Bearsden Road
Glasgow G61 1QH.
tel: 0141 330 8098
gradschool@vet.gla.ac.uk