Fully funded PhD place (UK/EU fees AND stipend at £14,553 per
annum for 2017/18) for 4 years to start a PhD in September 2017. The PhD
is joint between the School of Biosciences and Mathematical Sciences at
the University of Nottingham, UK.
Project Title
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Mathematical and Statistical Modelling of Risk of Emergence of
Antimicrobial Resistant Bacterial Pathogens and Reservoirs in
Agricultural Slurry
Project Description
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global challenge to human and
animal health and welfare. This project will develop mathematical models
that can be used to assess the risk of emergence of bacterial strains,
including pathogens, with new combinations of antimicrobial resistant
genes, and the impact of different farm interventions on these risks.
The models will be fitted to experimental data derived from the
EVAL-FARMS project, which is assessing the possible selection for
antimicrobial resistant bacteria in slurry from the University of
Nottingham’s dairy farm. Specifically, the project will develop hybrid
deterministic/stochastic population models that can describe large
populations of many different strains of bacteria, but with rare, random
events to describe the acquisition, loss or transfer of a resistance of
or between bacterial strains. Similar models have been successfully used
in describing virus dynamics. Data fitting will use advanced Bayesian
techniques, including Markov Chain Monte Carlo, and approximate Bayesian
techniques where experimental data is partially observed. The
probabilistic framework will then be used to associate levels of risk to
emergence of new resistant strains, and to assess the impact of
different farm interventions.
More details can be found here:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/
**Deadline** Friday, 31st March 2017
