New PhD scholarship for Cryptosporidium research
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Dr Belinda Ferrari |
Want to help the environment and improve human health? A PhD scholarship is available at Macquarie University to research the potentially deadly waterborne pathogen Cryptosporidium.
The position, funded by the Environmental Biotechnology Co-operative Research Centre, is available in the laboratory of Dr Belinda Ferrari within the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences at Macquarie University.
The research topic
"We've recently filled two positions and now we're looking to have someone come in and carry on the work of Quach Truong," Ferrari says. "Quach has developed a comprehensive Cryptosporidium proteome map and he is now starting to compare different species - there are some that only infect cattle, some that infect humans and some that transfer between the two. This new scholarship is aimed at exploiting important proteins he has recently identified between species.
"By the end of this year he'll have information on potential proteins that may be the cause of pathogenicity or which could be used as targets in detection tests. At this stage all the tests only look for the presence of Cryptosporidium rather than determining what species it is and whether it's harmful to humans. Some are more virulent than others, so maybe we'll find a marker for virulence that we'll use to characterise the different species.
"That's the main aim, but then I think even more interesting might be just trying to understand the disease process more, because there's so much still unknown about it," Ferrari says. "Quach presented his research at Glasgow last year and has received a lot of interest from the research community."
Scholarship details
The successful candidate will receive a stipend of $A 25,000 per year tax-free for 3.5 years (fees are also included but only for New Zealand and Australian citizens and permanent residents, otherwise international fees apply). Should you secure an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), it will be supplemented with up to an extra $A 7000. Allowances in addition to the scholarship include laboratory expenses, personal development and education along with local and overseas conference travel and assistance with thesis costs.
Applications and enquiries are welcomed from all students whose honours or masters degrees qualify them for admission to PhD study and who are interested in engaging in first-class fundamental and applied research that will benefit the environment. A background in biochemistry is essential and microbiology is desirable.
For more information contact Dr Belinda Ferrari on (02) 9850 9252 or bferrari@cbms.mq.edu.au
or visit www.ebcrc.com.au/