PhD Studentship in Plants Systems Biology

University of Nottingham - Schools of Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences & Biosciences

Supervisors: Professor Natalio Krasnogor (School of Computer Science), Professor Andrew Wood (School of Mathematical Sciences), Professor Michael Holdsworth (School of Biosciences).

In this project, the student will work at the interface of Computer Science, Mathematics and Biology, developing cutting-edge bioinformatics software applied to the understanding of complex biological networks:

(Multi)Cellular processes and pathways, whose deregulation may contribute to the development of biological ailments, are often represented as cascades of proteins transmitting a signal from the cell surface to the nucleus. However, recent functional genomic experiments have identified thousands of interactions for the canonical signaling proteins, challenging the traditional view of pathways as independent functional entities. Combining information from pathway databases and interaction networks obtained from, e.g., functional genomic experiments, is therefore a promising strategy for obtaining more robust pathway and process representations, facilitating the study of biological functionality.

This studentship will seek to extend work done at Nottingham on network-centric biology (Glaab et al Bioinformatics 2010; Glaab et al BMC Bioinformatics 2010; Bassel et al PNAS (USA) 2011) by integrating multiple information sources across different species and analyzing the resulting networks/graphs within and across species. The PhD candidate will investigate graph theoretical algorithms, high-performance computing, biological databases as well as advanced statistics with a view to creating biologically relevant and user-friendly bioinformatics tools. The successful student will have opportunities to visit international collaborators and will become a member of a very active community of interdisciplinary researchers at Nottingham.

Students should have a first class (or high 2:1) undergraduate or masters degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics or a related discipline. A background in Biology is not required but a willingness to learn relevant biology is essential. Applicants should be highly numerate and experienced programmers and should possess excellent communication skills, be keen to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, and be self-driven and highly motivated.

This fully-funded studentship (stipends + fees) is available for three years. Due to funding restrictions this studentship is only open to UK students.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to: Professor Krasnogor (Computer Science), email:natalio.krasnogor@nottingham.ac.uk. Professor Andrew Wood (Mathematical Sciences), email:Andrew.Wood@nottingham.ac.uk or Professor Michael Holdsworth (Biosciences), email:michael.holdsworth@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to these Email addresses will not be accepted (see below). Additional information is available at www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~nxk.

Students should send a complete application including all of the following: (1) covering letter, (2) full CV with transcripts (including expected or actual degree class), (3) the names and Email addresses of at least 2 (ideally 3 or more) academic referees. Full applications should be sent by email to Deborah Pitchfork, email:dap@cs.nott.ac.uk .

Please quote ref. SCI/PlantNetSysBio. The studentship will be filled when a suitable candidate has been identified. Early application is strongly recommended.

For all our vacancies and more about working at the University of Nottingham see: http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/.