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Ad For Studentship Reveals Much About ME Research At U of East Anglia

Never Give Up

Collecting improvements, until there's a cure.
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http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANY298/ph...ronic-fatigue-syndrome-me-cfs-wileman_u16inm/


PhD Studentship - Gut Viruses and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) (Wileman_U16INM)
University of East Anglia - Norwich Medical School
Qualification type: PhD
Location: Norwich
Funding for: UK Students, EU Students
Funding amount: £14,057
Hours: Full Time

Placed on: 16th June 2016
Closes: 4th July 2016
Start Date: October 2016

No. of positions available: 1

Supervisor: Prof Tom Wileman

Project description:

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a multifactorial disorder affecting the nervous system characterised by severe and prolonged fatigue. The cause is unknown although alterations in the immune system, recurrent or persistent infections, that can originate in the gut, autoantibody production and the effectiveness of B cell-depletion therapy suggest that ME patients suffer from autoimmune responses (1). Indeed, patients with ME have altered immune signatures indicative of viral infection (2) with most patients having persistent or intermittent symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction, with a significant subset presenting with chronic enterovirus infection of the stomach (4, 5). In contrast to acquired environmental virus infections, there is evidence that alterations in virus populations resident in the human gut (the gut virobiota, or virome) are linked to the development of inflammatory diseases (3). This PhD project will investigate whether the underlying causes of ME are related to the presence of specific virus populations within the gut virome. Using high throughput DNA/RNA sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools we will determine if and how both resident gut bacteria and virus populations change with disease progression and if a distinct virome signature can be identified in ME patients. Functional studies will establish whether the virome of ME patients contains viruses able to kill commensal bacteria (bacteriophages) and invade host cells in the gut (eukaryotic viruses), and can invoke local and systemic inflammatory immune responses after transfer to experimental animals.

This multidisciplinary project provides an opportunity for extensive training in virology, animal and cell biology, ‘omics’, and bioinformatics. The student will benefit from extensive knowledge and technical expertise of senior scientists in the groups of Profs Wileman and Carding at the UEA-Norwich Medical School. The project also benefits from collaborative work with Cornell University (USA), which is undertaking a parallel project with a USA cohort of ME patients.

Person specification:

Candidates should hold at least a 2:1 BSc or equivalent in Biological sciences.

Funding notes:

This is a directly-funded opportunity.

Fees:

£4,121 (2014/15 Home/EU £3,996pa Stipend (per annum)

£14,057 (2014/15 RCUK Stipend £13,863 pa)

RTSG/Bench fees: £5,000 per annum fully funded by External body