Interactive effects of antibiotics and temperature on freshwater bacteria - NERC DLA TREES STUDENTSHIP

Freshwater bodies, such as streams, face contamination from human-made pollutants like pharmaceuticals and are increasingly affected by climate change-induced temperature fluctuations. These stressors often interact in ways that amplify or diminish their individual ecological impacts. Temperature changes acutely affect multicellular organisms, driving species extinction and range shifts, but also profoundly shape microbial communities, despite their adaptability. For instance, bacteria evolved to tolerate higher temperatures can exhibit heightened sensitivity to antibiotics in polluted waters. This is alarming, as bacterial communities are critical to maintaining freshwater quality. Fundamental questions remain about the combined effects of antibiotics and temperature on freshwater microbial communities. In our prior research, we found temperature increases enhanced the efficacy of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin). Additionally, temperature-dependent synergistic effects of antibiotic mixtures further inhibited bacterial growth, particularly in bacteria already stressed by extreme temperatures. To generalize these findings, we propose experiments to assess the effects of antibiotic cocktails under diverse temperature scenarios across various freshwater bacterial species. This research aims to model and predict how antibiotic mixtures and temperature jointly influence bacterial communities, ensuring more accurate predictions of ecosystem responses to these stressors

As the PhD candidate, you will undertake project-specific training in microbiology techniques, microscopy, cytometry, general laboratory techniques, experimental design, and statistical techniques. The delivery of this training will be one-to-one instruction by the supervisory team. You will work in our environmental sciences laboratory in tandem with other PhD students, a post-doc and technicians (the latter provide laboratory inductions and teach culturing skills). You will agree a personal career development plan with their supervisory team for research, professional and transferable skills. Through this plan, you will be actively engaged in their personal and professional development and will take an active role in analysing their training progress. Project specific training also includes attending the Environmental Sciences seminar series (this is attended by all Environmental Sciences PhD students) and provides students with the opportunity to share ideas, collaborate and network through a series of events that complements the discipline-specific training. In addition, you will benefit from general training offered by the graduate school. This includes a researcher development programme (e.g. workshops and seminars, research dissemination, and careers and personal development), university-wide opportunities and social events and facilities. 

 

Eligibility

You must hold, or be expected to achieve, a first or high upper second-class undergraduate honours degree or equivalent (for example BA, BSc, MSci) or a Master's degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Biosciences, Analytical Science, Ecotoxicology etc). Prior experience in data analysis/visualisation, machine learning and/or analytical chemistry would be beneficial for this project. Candidates that have a relevant background in maths and/or data analytics that would like to develop biological knowledge, and analytical chemistry skills will also be suitable for this position. For further information on eligibility please refer to the TREES website.

How to apply

Enquiries email name and address:

TREES.Admissions@ucl.ac.uk

Application Web Page:

https://www.trees-dla.ac.uk/apply

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Julia Reiss - I am an environmental scientist with a particular interest in the taxonomy and ecology of aquatic organisms and pollution of aquatic environments. In my research I combine ecological theory and environmental topics (e.g., nutrient-, antibiotic- or plastic pollution of fresh waters) and focus on vulnerable taxonomic groups such as organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye but that drive the bulk of ecosystem processes on earth. For example, freshwater quality (i.e., the health of groundwater, lakes or rivers) is maintained by a community composed of mostly tiny organisms. Before joining Brunel, I was employed at the University of Roehampton, London, as a senior lecturer. My work history also includes two post-doctoral research positions, at Queen Mary University of London and at the River Laboratory, QMUL (Dorset), respectively. My full research profile and a list of my publications is available here.
Daniel Perkins - I am a foodweb ecologist interested in understanding the impacts of environmental change (e.g. land use change, climate warming and microplastic pollution) on aquatic ecosystems. An ecosystem is more than the sum of its parts and by studying species interactions (e.g. food webs) we can gain key information about the pathways of energy flow that bring about real change in natural systems. I use a range of approaches from small-scale laboratory experiments, field surveys and large ecological datasets to search for common mechanisms operating across freshwater and marine realms.