MRC AIM Doctoral Training Partnership

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Engineering
Location:  UK Other
Closing Date:  Friday 12 January 2024
Reference:  ENG1927

The AIM (Advanced Inter-Disciplinary Models) DTP is funded by the MRC between three Partners – the Universities of Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham – and three more Associate Partners – the Research Complex at Harwell, Mary Lyon Centre and Rosalind Franklin Institute. We have a range of exciting and diverse PhD 4-year projects at all 3 partner Institutions which are now open for a September 2024 start and those available at The University of Nottingham are detailed below.

Projects with an industry partner (iCASE projects) offer a unique opportunity to undertake translational research and come with a mandatory placement requirement and an enhanced stipend.

Full information about funding of these projects and application details, including application form plus Equality, diversity and inclusion form are available at https://more.bham.ac.uk/mrc-aim/phd-opportunities/ .

The deadline for submitting applications is 12.00 am GMT, Friday, 12 January 2024. Interviews will take place during the week commencing 26 February and will be held via Zoom.  

Applicants must hold, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in a relevant subject. A master’s qualification in a related area could be beneficial, as could additional relevant research experience.

Full details can be found on the MRC website.

How to apply

Please submit your application for University of Nottingham projects to [email protected] .

Projects open for application

Faculty of Engineering

Project Title: Translation of sustainable bio-instructive materials into medical equipment: reducing infections and antimicrobials in intensive care environments (iCASE)

Supervisors: Derek Irvine, [email protected]

Industrial Partner: Angel Guard Limited (Supervisor Jonathan Waggott)

Don Sharkey (UoN), Morgan Alexander (UoN)

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Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) are a leading cause of death and/or severe long-term illness in premature babies. Preterm infants acquire HAI’s during prolonged residence in intensive care units (ICU), often transferred from medical equipment such as their incubator or water-based aerosols from washing/cleaning. This project will develop new sustainable materials of construction for ICU equipment, that will both resist microbial colonisation (reducing infections and improving outcomes) and reduce the healthcare sectors dependence on petrochemicals (reducing carbon-footprint). 

This is a multidisciplinary project lead by Nottingham’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing (Engineering), comprising ~100 researchers hosted in state-of-the-art facilities. The team also includes a neonatologist (School of Medicine), a biomaterials scientist (Faculty of Science) and our industrial collaborator (Angel Guard Ltd).

The student will develop the new materials and test them in-use, working closely with Angel Guard. There will be opportunities to train at the Harwell Research Complex learning cutting edge analytical skills and spend time at research-active neonatal ICU to better understand the clinical needs. This PhD will suit a highly ambitious chemistry/engineering graduate, wishing to undertake a truly translational clinical/industry linked project. The student will be well placed to secure follow-on funding for clinical trials or on-going development/commercialisation.