This PhD opportunity is positioned in the dietetics team within a large multi-disciplinary, multi-site, translational project aiming to examine the relationships between dietary intake and the microbiome, immune system, cognition, and performance in people who are exposed to high-stress, high intensity situations.
Diet influences the relationship between the gut microbiome, immune system, and the brain, with established links between these factors and cognitive function, anxiety, and depression. There is evidence to suggest that high-intensity and stressful events can impact the gut microbiome and initiate or perpetuate cognitive dysfunction. The aim of this PhD project is to understand how dietary intake influences the gut microbiome of different individuals when they are undertaking prolonged physically and mentally demanding regimes.
To achieve this aim, the PhD project will determine what dietary factors need to be assessed in relation to gut microbiome, how to measure potentially relevant diet-microbiome interactions and the translational implications of any identified diet-microbiome associations for physical and mental performance. The project will involve observational dietary assessment research and some fieldwork. The PhD candidate will be supported by postdoctoral dietetics researchers within a digestive health research team, with additional support from the wider University of Newcastle Nutrition research program at Hunter Medical Research Institute.
The successful candidate will join a large, supportive team of researchers working in collaboration to understand and therapeutically target the microbiome-gut-brain axis. The project offers a unique opportunity to be part of novel diet-microbiome research, which will provide the candidate with a sought-after skillset in this rapidly evolving research field. This initiative also offers the candidate exposure to the expertise of clinician, dietetics, and basic science researchers. The project is supported by postdoctoral dietetics researchers within a digestive health research team, with additional support from the wider University of Newcastle Nutrition research program at Hunter Medical Research Institute.
PhD Scholarship details
Funding: $28,854 per annum (2022 rate) indexed annually. For a PhD candidate, the living allowance scholarship is for 3.5 years and the tuition fee scholarship is for four years. Scholarships also include up to $1,500 relocation allowance.
Primary supervisors: Dr Kerith Duncanson and Professor Simon Keely
Available to: Domestic students
Eligibility Criteria
We are seeking passionate, highly motivated applicants with a primary Honours degree or equivalent in Nutrition and Dietetics, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Biomedical Science, or a related field. Candidates must have excellent communication and the ability to work within a team. Candidate must be comfortable working with human biological samples (e.g., blood). Vaccination against blood borne illnesses will be required. The applicant will need to meet the minimum eligibility criteria for admission.
Application Procedure
Interested applicants should send an email expressing their interest along with scanned copies of their academic transcripts, CV, a brief statement of their research interests and a proposal that specifically links them to the research project. Please send the email expressing interest to kerith.duncanson@newcastle.edu.au
Applications Close: 5pm, 31 July 2022
