ARC Grant Funded Scholarship - School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences

Researchers at the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne are conducting research aimed at the prevention of musculoskeletal injury and cardiac arrhythmia in athletic horses.  Together with an industry partner we have been successful in attracting ARC-linkage funding and are looking for a graduate, with relevant equine experience interested in undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy, to work on this project.

This project will address the need for predicting and preventing catastrophic and career limiting limb injuries and cardiac arrhythmias in racehorses due to over (or under) training.  Two PhD scholarships are available, one through the University of Adelaide, focussing on the cardiac aspects of the project and a 2nd focussing on musculoskeletal aspects (through the University of Melbourne).  The 2 candidates will work closely together and the role will involve collecting data from GPS, movement sensors, heart rate and ECG of racehorses in training, and identifying early signs of lameness and arrhythmia.  Then the effectiveness of machine learning algorithms to detect early evidence of the development of musculoskeletal injury and cardiac arrhythmias will be investigated.  The successful candidate will be trained in the use of lameness locator and ECG monitoring equipment.  The partner in this project, Alerte Equine Science, is a company at the forefront of applying artificial intelligence technology to the prevention of racehorse injury and also works on rhythm abnormality detection in human patients.

The project will suit candidates with a veterinary or animal science degree, with some experience working with horses, particularly in the racing industry.

The Scholarship is funded by an ARC-Linkage Grant to support a full-time PhD student to conduct research into the identification and risk factors for cardiac arrhythmia in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Eligibility:

Applicants may be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia who are acceptable as candidates for a PhD degree at the University of Adelaide.  International students will also be considered.

Stipend:

The scholarship will be for a maximum of 3 years and has a stipend of $34,013 (indexed annually) per annum.  There are no additional allowances.  It is likely to be tax exempt, subject to Taxation Office approval. 

Enquiries:

Associate Professor Samantha Franklin , School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences

Tel: (08) 83137931

Email: [email protected]

Applying:

Expressions of interest should be submitted via email to Associate Professor Samantha Franklin ([email protected]) in the first instance.

Please ensure you include all of the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae
• Academic transcripts
• Evidence of Australian or New Zealand citizenship, or Australian permanent resident status (if applicable)
• Evidence of English language proficiency if an international applicant.