[Neutron] Advertisement of a position for a PhD in co-tutelle (Swansea univ. - Univ. Grenoble Alpes)

[judith peters]

PhD in cotutelle on “Negative pressure and cavitation as stability limit in biological systems”

Funding providers: Swansea University Strategic Partnership Research Scholarships (SUSPRS) with Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), France

Subject areas: Physics, Biophysics, Chemical Engineering

Project start date:

 * 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
Supervisors:

 * Prof. Judith Peters (Univ. Grenoble Alpes – judith.peters at univ-grenoble-alpes.fr)
 * Dr Matthew Barrow (Swansea University - m.s.barrow at swansea.ac.uk)
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Physics, Biophysics or Chemical Engineering

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description:

The preservation of normal form and function of biomolecules is critical for sustaining life. When living organisms are exposed to conditions beyond a critical point, irreversible degradation or denaturation can occur. This project seeks to study the behaviour of protein solutions under varied conditions of both temperature and pressure and aims to observe the effect of these conditions upon physical attributes which are linked to natural function. The project will principally focus on biologically extreme conditions including negative pressure and/or supercooling of aqueous protein solutions i.e. studies will focus on the behaviour of biological materials under metastable conditions with respect to the phase diagram of water.

The programme of research seeks to develop pressure systems suitable for the study of biological samples, model the thermodynamics and nucleation expected at extreme conditions and take into account various transitions of proteins with respect to changes in thermodynamic conditions.

It is anticipated that the use of advanced scattering and characterisation techniques will be employed to probe modifications to both protein structure and mechanical properties, for example the use of FT-IR spectroscopy and rheometrical techniques will precede applications for beam time at the neutron facility at Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble.

Project work will be conducted at both Swansea University Bay Campus and UGA in association with the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Physics (LIPhY), respectively.

Modalities:

This is a joint PhD programme (co-tutelle) between Swansea University and Université Grenoble Alpes.

Established in 2012/13, the Swansea and Grenoble (UGA) Institutional Strategic Partnership was one of the first major strategic partnerships between a UK and French university. It is a unique, institutional-wide multi-disciplinary collaboration, which includes joint research and publication, student and staff exchange, joint PhDs and joint master’s programmes. Over 30 Joint Doctoral Degrees have been developed through the strategic partnership to date, across diverse subject areas, including medicine, engineering and law. Candidates spend 50% of their time in both Swansea and Grenoble and are jointly supervised by academic staff from both universities. Successful candidates receive a double degree from the Université Grenoble Alpes and Swansea University.

Eligibility

Candidates must hold a UK bachelor’s degree with a minimum of Upper Second Class honours or overseas bachelor’s degree deemed equivalent to UK honours (by UK ECCTIS) and achieved a grade equivalent to UK Upper Second Class honours in Physics, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry or related subject. If you are eligible to apply for the scholarship but do not hold a UK degree, you can check our comparison entry requirements. Please note that you may need to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency.

Applicants must hold a master's qualification to comply with Grenoble’s admissions requirements.

English Language: IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 5.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent.

This scholarship is open to candidates of any nationality.

Please, send your application (including a CV, a motivation letter, your marks during academic career, a recommendation letter) to one of the supervisors before June 30th, 2024.

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