Reference Number: PhD Molecular Biology Project
Location: Kilifi
Country: Kenya
Supervisor: TBC
Description:
The NIHR Global Health Group on Vaccines to Control Respiratory Pathogens and AMR across Africa (VacAMR) is an exciting new Africa-led interdisciplinary partnership that will transform the approach to controlling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), VacAMR will award a Global Health Research PhD studentship to an outstanding candidate from an African LMIC. The PhD project will determine how vaccines can be used alongside other interventions to prevent infections and diseases caused by respiratory pathogens and control antimicrobial resistance. The successful student will be registered at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom and be based at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kenya. The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (www.kemri-wellcome.org ) is an internationally recognised centre for research and research training funded by Wellcome in collaboration with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).
Overview:
There is an under-recognized pandemic of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infection, with around 1.3 million bacterial AMR-attributable deaths in 2019, most commonly due to lower respiratory infections (LRI). Co-directed by Professor Robert Heyderman and Dr. Brenda Kwambana-Adams, VacAMR sets out to improve AMR control, particularly in relation to respiratory pathogens, by focusing on preventing disease syndromes (e.g. fever & pneumonia), as part of a multimodal approach that includes vaccine and non-vaccine interventions.
VacAMR will tackle AMR through new strategic South-South partnerships between the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, MLW, Navrongo Health Research Centre, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. Partnerships with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UCL, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), The Africa CDC, WHO and Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, among others, will enhance the transformative approach taken by VacAMR. Our equitable Africa-led partnership of epidemiologists, public health policy and diagnostics specialists, social scientists, economists, clinicians, trialists, microbiologists and immunologists will co-develop multimodal interventions to control AMR that can be tested with the potential to influence policy.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with a range of UK and LMIC-based senior researchers to develop a project proposal and then undertake their research in a structured and mentored training environment. The PhD will focus on how vaccines can be used alongside other interventions to prevent infections and diseases caused by respiratory pathogens and control antimicrobial resistance. The student may conduct situational analyses, stakeholder consultations, and sequence stored samples to understand patterns of resistance in different populations. KWTRP hosts state-of-the-art laboratories with expertise and infrastructure that support a large ongoing programme of vaccine evaluation research.
The award of an NIHR VacAMR Global Health studentship will be made through an international competition to candidates from African LMICs. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the development of their research project substantially. The successful candidate will be based at KWTRP and registered at LSHTM, working across the partnership.
Overview:
Suitable applicants should be citizens or residents of an African LMIC and possess one or more of the following qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree with at least a 2:1 (credit or equivalent) in clinical or veterinary medicine or in basic or applied sciences, including immunology, microbiology, molecular biology or biomedical sciences.
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The following are not essential but are desired:
- A master’s degree with at least a credit (or equivalent experience) in a relevant discipline.
- Prior experience in health research, particularly in a laboratory environment.
- A track record of scientific writing and publishing.
Other desired qualifications
- Willingness to travel to Duke University, USA for related training.
- Strong communication skills (oral and written).
- Teamwork skills.
- Demonstrable experience with programming in R (will be an added advantage).