PhD Studentship - Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance by Combining Bioengineering and Bacteriophage Approaches

Main Supervisor: Professor Paul Elkington and Dr. Franklin Nobrega

Duration of the award: Four years

Start date: 23/09/2024

Project description:

Antimicrobial resistance is predicted to become a primary cause of death by 2050, and novel approaches are urgently required. This project uses a bioengineering approach to investigate bacteriophages as novel antimicrobial agents, harnessing a recently developed rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test (iFAST) to accelerate implementation.

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing problem worldwide. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria, are promising avenue as a novel solution to the emerging problem of AMR. However, developing this approach faces challenges as it requires a highly cross-disciplinary approach, and is limited by methods to rapidly test if bacteria are being killed by bacteriophages. This project will work across disciplines of biology, electronics and medicine to develop new approaches. Our team combines expertise in three faculties at the University of Southampton and will leverage a new rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test (iFAST), developed at Southampton in Electronics and Computer Science, to accelerate phage therapy for resistant infections, including gram negative infections and tuberculosis.

Our objectives are:

• Isolate and propagate bacteriophages that target bacteria effectively.
• Develop standardized phage susceptibility testing, by evaluating and refining the iFAST technology to swiftly assess phage susceptibility in bacterial isolates, accelerating clinical treatment decisions.
• Optimal phage-antibiotic combinations: Develop ways for accelerated selection of optimal phage-antibiotic combinations against resistant organisms using the iFAST rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test, reducing the time needed to identify synergistic pairs.
• Perform proof of concept studies in our bioengineered 3-dimensional human model of tuberculosis infection to show bacterial killing by the best combinations.

By streamlining and standardizing phage and phage-antibiotic selection processes using iFAST, we aim to establish it as a cornerstone technology for rapid, standardized treatment selection to TB. This project will give unique cross-disciplinary training in bioengineering and biology to address a globally important issue.

The successful candidate is likely to have the following qualifications:

• A 1^stor 2:1 degree in a relevant discipline and/or second degree with a related Masters.

Funding information:

This PhD studentship is fully funded for four years by philanthropic donation at Research Council rates. Amount of stipend £25,000.00 plus fees at UK residency rate only.

Administrative contact and how to apply:

Please complete the University's online application form, which you can find at:

student-selfservice.soton.ac.uk/BNNRPROD/bzsksrch.P_Login?pos=7201&majr=7201&term=202425

You should enter Professor Paul Elkington as your proposed supervisor. To support your application provide an academic CV (including contact details of two referees), official academic transcripts and a personal statement (outlining your suitability for the studentship, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date).

Informal enquiries relating to the project or candidate suitability should be directed to Paul Elkington or

Franklin Nobrega for an initial discussion: P.elkington@soton.ac.uk; F.Nobrega@soton.ac.uk

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