UK: University of Stirling Two PhD Studentships in Aquatic Epidemiology

To every complex question there is simple answer . . . and it is wrong (H.L. Mencken).
This is a great opportunity to study the epidemiology of a complex industry. Preferably we would like to recruit someone with an interest in epidemiology. If you have such an interest but have not considered aquaculture, this may be the time to think again. Aquaculture has been the fastest food production sector for over 20 years and is a significant contribution to the diet of people throughout the world, from some of the poorest to the wealthiest.

Context
Fisheries Research Services, Aberdeen, and the Institute of Aquaculture are co-funding two PhD studentships to examine aspects of disease spread and monitoring in the aquaculture industry, which will offer a wide range of challenges to persons with a background in veterinary medicine, animal health, aquaculture, or epidemiology.

Existing data includes mortality counts from salmon and trout farms, divided by cause or diagnosis. These data are accepted to be estimates, and a student could develop methods to assess their validity and develop optimal methods for collecting data for assessing fish health status. The data also include records of live fish movements within Scotland. As demonstrated by the 2001 epidemic of FMD, live animal movements are important risk routes for transmission of disease, and studying the patterns of such movements will aid in disease prevention and control.

Requirement
Applications should have

At least a good Bachelor degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, biology, veterinary, etc. A masters degree would be an advantage.

Good communication skills, with fluency in written and spoken English and ability to communicate with non-scientists.

Competency in both experimental and quantitative biology, and ability to handle large data sets.

A full EU driving licence would be an advantage, and permission to work within the UK is essential.

Supervisors
The students will join the Aquatic Population Health and Welfare group of the Aquaculture Institute, which carries out a broad range of research topics on a range of species. Supervisors for the two projects will include Prof. Jimmy Turnbull and Dr Darren Green from the Institute of Aquaculture, and the supervisors from Fisheries Research Services, based in Aberdeen, are Dr Sandy Murray and Dr Alison Gregory.

Conditions of the award
Due to funding restrictions, these studentships are only available for students who would be subject to tuition fees at the UK/EU level. Funding is available for a student for 3 years with the annual stipend equivalent to that of a full UK research council stipend.

Further information
Further details and an application form are available at:
http://www.staff.stir.ac.uk/darren.green/phd/

Requests for additional information about the vacancy and informal enquiries can be addressed to:
Dr Darren Green email: darren.green@stir.ac.uk tel:+44 (0)1786 467872
or the head of department Prof. Randolph Richards email: rhr2@stir.ac.uk tel: +44 (0)1786 467870.

Postal address for correspondence:

Dr Darren Green
Institute of Aquaculture
University of Stirling
Stirling FK9 4LA
UK

Applications
Application forms should be submitted by post or email by May 5th 2008. Short-listed candidates will be called for an interview.

Further Details