The School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary is one of the UK’s elite research centres, according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). We offer a multi-disciplinary research environment and have approximately 180 PhD students working on projects in the biological and psychological sciences. Our students have access to a variety of research facilities supported by experienced staff, as well as a range of student support services.
You will be supported by the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology strength in the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, and supported both at sea and in the home laboratory by an array of analytical instruments.
These include:
Our PhD students become part of Queen Mary’s Doctoral College which provides training and development opportunities, advice on funding, and financial support for research. Our students also have access to a Researcher Development Programme designed to help recognise and develop key skills and attributes needed to effectively manage research, and to prepare and plan for the next stages of their career.
You will be trained in state of the art stable isotope analytical techniques including for trace gases and solids and the related analytical chemistry techniques needed to prepare samples for isotope analyses. You will also be trained in a variety of gas-chromatography and oxygen sensing techniques. Other training will be provided for the microbial molecular parts of your PhD including a range of genomics technologies from nucleic acid isolation to sequencing library preparation, wider data analysis and presentation skills.
Nitrogen (N) is fundamental to all life on Earth, from building proteins to DNA telling life what to do. Nitrogen exists largely as di-nitrogen gas (N2) in our atmosphere, with only a small fraction being found in the organic N of living organisms. After death and decay, organic N decomposes to ammonia and –according to current understanding– ammonia is then recycled back to atmospheric N2 by couplings between distinct aerobic (nitrification) and anaerobic microbes (denitrification and anammox).
A couple of years ago we challenged this view (Ouyang et al. 2021) with strong evidence for a direct aerobic route from ammonia back to atmospheric N2 gas, in oxic riverbeds, that cuts the established N cycle in half. Others have published accounts of pure aerobic cultures of Alcaligenes (HO-1) oxidising ammonia to N2 gas (Wu et al. 2020), yet we know Alcaligenes (HO-1) is not present in our samples.
Here you will use a variety of stable isotope tracer techniques (15N-NH3, 15N-NO2-) with mass-spectrometry and gas-chromatography in combination with molecular microbial techniques (q-PCR, RT-qPCR, next-generation sequencing, network analyses) to both identify candidates for the oxic production of N2 gas and further characterise the regulation of this novel process in both natural freshwater and marine communities.
This studentship is open to students applying for China Scholarship Council funding. Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary. Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses for 4 years and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.
Applicants must be:- Chinese students with a strong academic background.- Students holding a PR Chinese passport.- Either be resident in China at the time of application or studying overseas.- Students with prior experience of studying overseas (including in the UK) are eligible to apply. Chinese QMUL graduates/Masters’ students are therefore eligible for the scheme.Please refer to the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.
Applicants from outside of the UK are required to provide evidence of their English Language ability. Please see our English Language requirements page for details: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/international-students/englishlanguagerequirements/postgraduateresearch/
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Mark Trimmer at m.trimmer@qmul.ac.uk
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 31st January 2024 for consideration, including a CV, personal statement and qualifications. You must meet the IELTS/ English Language requirements for your course and submit all required documentation (including evidence of English Language) by 14th March 2024. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements. Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship by in March 2024 with the support of the supervisor.
Only applicants who are successful in their application to CSC can be issued an unconditional offer and enrol on our PhD programme. For further information, please go to: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/scholarships/items/china-scholarship-council-scholarships.html
Apply Online
Ouyang, L., B. Thamdrup, and M. Trimmer. 2021. Coupled nitrification and N2 gas production as a cryptic process in oxic riverbeds. Nat. Commun. 12: 1217.
Wu, M.-R. and others 2020. A novel oxidase from Alcaligenes sp. HO-1 oxidizes hydroxylamine to N2. bioRxiv: 2020.2008.2020.256677.