PhD Studentship: Whole genome sequencing from mosquito blood meals
University of East Anglia
Primary Supervisor - Dr Anders Bergstrom Mosquitos can be seen as tiny, autonomous samplers of blood from wild animals. It is well-established that mosquito blood meals contain animal DNA, as well as DNA from animal pathogens. Current environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques are routinely applied to blood meals to survey species presence and absence, but these techniques only make use of a tiny fraction of an organism's genome. This project will go far beyond species detection, and pioneer the sequencing of whole ani...
Primary Supervisor - Dr Anders Bergstrom Mosquitos can be seen as tiny, autonomous samplers of blood from wild animals. It is well-established that mosquito blood meals contain animal DNA, as well as DNA from animal pathogens. Current environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques are routinely applied to blood meals to survey species presence and absence, but these techniques only make use of a tiny fraction of an organism's genome. This project will go far beyond species detection, and pioneer the sequencing of whole ani...
Opportunity details
Primary Supervisor - Dr Anders Bergstrom Mosquitos can be seen as tiny, autonomous samplers of blood from wild animals. It is well-established that mosquito blood meals contain animal DNA, as well as DNA from animal pathogens. Current environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques are routinely applied to blood meals to survey species presence and absence, but these techniques only make use of a tiny fraction of an organism's genome. This project will go far beyond species detection, and pioneer the sequencing of whole animal genomes from blood meals. The project will make use of hundreds of collected blood meals with species presences already determined, to address fundamental biological questions about blood meal DNA, and push forward technologies for recovering genomic information from these samples: - Objective 1. Improve methods to efficiently sequence genomes from blood meals: evaluating and developing protocols for efficient extraction and Illumina sequencing of blood meal DNA, including protocols from the field of ancient DNA. - Objective 2. Uncover the molecular properties of blood meal DNA: characterising the degradation, damage patterns, and epigenetic information in blood meal DNA, including the use of Nanopore sequencing - Objective 3. Use blood meal genomes to survey genetic diversity of animals and pathogens: recovering whole genomes from animals to learn about population structure, genetic relatedness, pathogen transmission dynamics, and more. The student will receive broad training in molecular biology experiments, genomics technologies, bioinformatics, metagenomics, and population genetics. They will develop both wet-lab and computational genomics skills with wide applicability across the life sciences. The student will take part in journal clubs and departmen...
Eligibility
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027 Additional Funding Information Note – use this field to provide related salary info e.g. plus London Allowance This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. Studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), stipend to cover living expenses (2026/27 rate: £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 pa for each year of the studentship.
Requirements
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027 Additional Funding Information Note – use this field to provide related salary info e.g. plus London Allowance This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. Studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), stipend to cover living expenses (2026/27 rate: £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 pa for each year of the studentship.
Funding and benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.
Required documents
application form
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Recorded source check: October 22, 2026. A stored check date does not guarantee that every field is complete or still current. Compare the provider, eligibility, funding and deadline with the live official call before applying.
Benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.
Eligibility summary
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027 Additional Funding Information Note – use this field to provide related salary info e.g. plus London Allowance This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. Studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), stipend to cover living expenses (2026/27 rate: £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 pa for each year of the studentship.
Requirements
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027 Additional Funding Information Note – use this field to provide related salary info e.g. plus London Allowance This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. Studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), stipend to cover living expenses (2026/27 rate: £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 pa for each year of the studentship.
Documents required
application form
Language/test requirements
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