Return to Home
Fully funded PhD position for 2025
I have an internal funding from Coventry University for one PhD. Here is the link to the advertisement of the position.
https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-opportunities/research-students/research-studentships/microbiology-population-modelling/
Below you find some important informtation, DO MAKE SURE that you read all before contacting me. No one enjoys answering a question that he already spent time writing it and gave it to you to read, but instead you decided to act kind of lazy and not read the text and send an email to ask! That actually is a red light to the supervisor about you as a candidate, don't you agree? ^_^
Microbiology population modelling with the aid of computer algebra techniques
- Eligibility: No nationality, location, gender, age restriction.
- Duration:Full-time, between 3 and 3.5 years fixed term.
- Application deadline:25 October 2024, but may filled sooner, so if intersted contact as early as possible.
- Start date:January 2025
Introduction
This exciting interdisciplinary project offers the successful PhD student the opportunity to develop mathematical theory, implement software packages, and conduct lab experiments on E. coli bacteria, within the same research project. Coventry University invites applications from suitably qualified graduates for this fully funded PhD studentship based in the Centre for Computational Sciences and Mathematical Modeling, with regular visits to the Centre for Health and Life Sciences for lab activities.
Project details
To study the spread of a disease or to stop an animal species from danger of extinction, one needs to develop and use population models. For example, the Allee effect, a population model where in addition to competition for resources species exhibit cooperative behaviour for survival, has been observed in honey bees, starfishes and bacteria to name a few examples. A single population with the Allee effect is well-studied in the literature.
However, connected populations with the Allee effect that have the possibility of migration is a current topic of research. There are some initial theoretical steps already taken where it has been shown that connected populations with the Allee effect can exhibit complex behaviour. Engineered E-coli bacteria can be used to study population models with more degrees of freedom for the experimentalist in comparison to doing the experiments on animals or plants. However, to guarantee that we do not miss any possible behaviour and outcomes of the model, the design of the experiment and the choice of parameter values need guidance from advanced computational techniques.
The student will start by reproducing an engineered E-coli bacteria exhibiting the Allee effect. Then the student will use computer algebra to predict all possible behaviour of the model. At this stage they should answer the following questions:
- Can the use of algebraic methods help inform a validation study of empirical results in the literature?
- Can this lead to the identification of issues in experimental design; or errors in computer algebra algorithms?
- Can this approach be used to inform empirical studies not yet undertaken, with suitable parameter values to maximise the diversity of the observed behaviour?
By uncovering more examples that exhibit complex behaviour using the guidance of the developed algebraic toolkit and observing them in the lab environment, the student validates the applicability of the tool in a general case and thus not only specific to the initial case study.
Funding
Tuition fees and bursary.
Entry Requirments
- A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average.
- The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within 3.5 years.
- A minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS academic overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).
Do not contact me regarding exempting you from any of the above 3 requirments, these are mandatory requirments from the university. For example if you studied your master in English at India or Pakistan, it still does not exempt you from an English proficincy. If you have doubt or want to be sure, I recommend you to contact university (research.admissions@coventry.ac.uk) about your English document, that is not a question for me. The following link from UK goverment on condition for English proficincy test for student visa may be useful for you https://www.gov.uk/student-visa/knowledge-of-english, there is a list of specific countries that are exempted which are explicitely mentioned.
REAL Requirments
As seen from the project description, this is an interdisciplinary research project. Students need a strong background in mathematics and programming, as well as a high interest in biology lab experiments and activities. Interested candidates are strongly advised to contact Dr. AmirHosein Sadeghimanesh as early as possible to have an initial conversation and gain more insight into the nature of the project.
Candidates are also recommended to review Dr Sadeghimanesh's publications and videos of his academic talks to familiarize themselves with the types of mathematics and modeling techniques that will be used in this work.
- The student must be familiar with basic algebra, polynomials, differential equations, linear algebra, numerical analysis, and algorithms. Familiarity with computational algebraic geometry is a significant advantage.
- The student must be proficient in at least one programming language and have experience with mathematical software, such as Maple, Mathematica, Matlab, SageMath, etc.
- A strong interest in lab activities is necessary. Experience in a biology lab, especially with microbiological knowledge and experiments involving bacteria such as E. coli, is a bonus.
- Ability to learn quickly and be open to new topics.
- Good academic writing skills.
- The student should be committed to working hard, managing time effectively, and completing tasks on time.
- Candidates must show a clear understanding of the project description and the nature of the program in their cover letters. The student will need to write the code for computations themselves, rather than using pre-existing Python packages.
- Shortlisted candidates will receive an assignment with a limited timeframe for submission. Those with the best performance will be invited for an interview.
- The use of text-generating AI at any stage of the application process will be considered a negative mark. Applicants must use their own writing skills and knowledge.
- Cover Letter Requirements: Applicants must explicitly discuss their educational background and any relevant experience related to this project. They should explain why they are interested in this PhD position and why they believe they are a suitable candidate.
Some useful videos
The following seminars may help you understand a bit more about the mathematics involved in this project, an remember there is no Machine Learning in this PhD program!
If you have any further question, please do not hesitate to ask.
Flag counter
This flag counter counts the number of visitors to my homepages, not only this page :)
