PhD Studentships 2012 opportunities

we value the expertise, talent and knowledge graduates bring to our research community and the important contribution students make to the development of our scientific excellence.

PhD projects from The James Hutton Institute's annual competitive Joint-Studentship programme are now being advertised on FindAPhD.com.

These projects are funded jointly between the Institute and participating universities. PhD opportunities are offered from all our Science Groups and cover many aspects of our work including plant genetics, plant pathogens, land use, socio-economics, soils and biodiversity.

At The James Hutton Institute we value the expertise, talent and knowledge graduates bring to our research community and the important contribution students make to the development of our scientific excellence. The James Hutton Institute provides a research environment where technical and intellectual competency can flourish.

The support and mentoring you will receive throughout your studies from The James Hutton Institute’s supervisors and our Postgraduate Student Liaison Team will ensure you achieve a high degree of intellectual freedom, whilst equipping you with the comprehensive range of scientific and transferable skills demanded of today's trained scientists.

Ecological Sciences PhD Projects

• Novel approaches to biofortification of potatoes with zinc
• Enhanced soil C-storage and greenhouse gas mitigation through root-trait selection
• Factors controlling root growth in heterogeneous substrates: physical structures and root behaviour
• Engineering of optical systems for imaging roots in transparent soils
• Root traits for resource capture in soils with high impedance
• Microbial mechanisms and biodiversity in recalcitrant organic matter degradation in soils and sediments
• Nutritional carrying capacity and management of native woodlands for Capercaillies

Cell and Molecular Sciences PhD Projects

• Structure-function analysis of an enveloped, arthropod-transmitted plant virus
• Grass endophytes in sustainable agriculture
• Membrane-based macromolecular complexes in targeting plant viral replication sites for intercellular movement
• The use of the barley desynapsitc mutants to study recombination in cereals
• The contribution of pathogen and pest effectors to host range
• Gene expression responses to environmental stress in barley
• Molecular mechanisms underpinning the control of row-type in barley by INTERMEDIUM-C
• Investigation of new sources of resistance to Rhynchosporium secalis in landrace and wild barley
• The role of effectors in Rhynchosporium commune pathogenicity on barley
• Identifying Phytophthora infeans nutrient sources and metabolism changes occurring during potato infection
• The role of miRNAs in potato tuber formation
• The role of Phytophthora infestans secreted effectors in determining non-host resistance
• Mechanisms or abiotic stress resistance in the Solanaceae
• Understanding the role of Redox Responsive Transcription Factor 1 in plant-aphid interactions
• Assessing the risk of produce as a transmission pathway of zoonotic pathogens

Environmental and Biochemical Sciences PhD Projects

• Integrating terrestrial and hydrological-based models to assess gaseous and aquatic C:N fluxes
• Using environmental tracers to understand flood inundation processes in the Pantanal wetland
• Functional studies of glycosidase activity within human gut microbiota in response to berries
• Cereal glucan functionality; pathways for better human health
• Influence of sediment characteristics on transport of pathogens from freshwater to coast
• Soil structure dynamics and the role of carbon

Information and Computational Sciences PhD Projects

• Constrictions of regulatory networks and integration of large scale experimental data in plants
• A functional genomic screen for DNA-binding effectors in eukaryotic plant pathogens
• Bioinformatics approaches for the comparison of genomic DNA with transcribed RNA by Next Generation Sequencing
• Incorporating benefits of Grow Your Own into contaminated land risk assessment
• Developing and testing geovisualisation approaches for understanding multiple-benefits from Scottish agricultural systems

Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences PhD Projects

• Socio-economic aspects of climate change mitigation through multifunctional forestry in Scotland

Full details of the projects offered can be viewed on FindaPhD.com. Closing date for applications is 13 February 2012.