The School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary is one of the UK’s elite research centres, according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). We offer a multi-disciplinary research environment and have approximately 180 PhD students working on projects in the biological and psychological sciences. Our students have access to a variety of research facilities supported by experienced staff, as well as a range of student support services.
The student will join a dynamic and supportive team of collaborative researchers who enjoy life and doing impactful innovative science (https://wurmlab.com/team). You will collaborate for some aspects of the project, and develop the critical skills needed to lead others. You will present work at UK and international conferences, and have plenty of opportunities to orient the research. Some of our track record is outlined at https://wurmlab.com, https://sequenceserver.com and https://pollinator.health
Our PhD students become part of Queen Mary’s Doctoral College which provides training and development opportunities, advice on funding, and financial support for research. Our students also have access to a Researcher Development Programme designed to help recognise and develop key skills and attributes needed to effectively manage research, and to prepare and plan for the next stages of their career.
You will develop and implement new approaches, receive training in molecular biology & genomics, animal experimentation, bioinformatics, data science, machine learning, software development, scientific communication and related disciplines.
The “superorganismal” societies of ants, bees, wasps, and termites dominate many terrestrial habitats because of their extreme social living: queens and males reproduce, and morphologically distinct workers do everything else. Kin-selection theory explains why natural selection can favor alleles leading to superorganismal life. However, the theory overlooks the fundamental challenge of explaining how selection for sociality manifests in the genome.
Here, we seek to uncover the genomic innovations favored by selection for sociality, and to understand the consequences of these genomic innovations for evolutionary processes. For this we will combine behavioral, bioinformatics and molecular-genomic analyses on several species.
We anticipate generating high-resolution data sets from RNA and DNA sequencing and high-resolution video monitoring. We will obtain power by and combining large datasets with advanced data science, statistical and machine learning approaches, and advanced visualization techniques.
The student will have the opportunity to contribute to all aspects related to the work. The insight gained from this work will help understand how complex social phenotypes evolve and fill major gaps regarding the mechanisms of social evolution.
This studentship is open to students applying for China Scholarship Council funding. Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary. Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses for 4 years and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.
Applicants must be:- Chinese students with a strong academic background.- Students holding a PR Chinese passport.- Either be resident in China at the time of application or studying overseas.- Students with prior experience of studying overseas (including in the UK) are eligible to apply. Chinese QMUL graduates/Masters’ students are therefore eligible for the scheme.Please refer to the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.
Applications are invited from outstanding candidates with or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a masters degree is desirable or equivalent experience in an area relevant to the project such as evolutionary genetics, population genetics, molecular biology, entomology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, biological data sciences, genomics, social evolution, deep learning, video analysis, or behavioural ecology.
We embrace rigor and the use of applying modern technologies. Candidates should show motivation and the ability to think rigorously, to do impactful work are more important than specific technical experience and willing to undertake data analysis.
We thus seeking highly motivated candidates with a strong interest in answering major questions in evolutionary biology and a willingness to develop expertise in all areas that will be required for the project.
Applicants from outside of the UK are required to provide evidence of their English Language ability. Please see our English Language requirements page for details: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/international-students/englishlanguagerequirements/postgraduateresearch/
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Prof. Yannick Wurm at y.wurm@qmul.ac.uk
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 31st January 2024 for consideration, including a CV, personal statement and qualifications. You must meet the IELTS/ English Language requirements for your course and submit all required documentation (including evidence of English Language) by 14th March 2024. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements. Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship by in March 2024 with the support of the supervisor.
Only applicants who are successful in their application to CSC can be issued an unconditional offer and enrol on our PhD programme. For further information, please go to: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/scholarships/items/china-scholarship-council-scholarships.html
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