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 Primary Supervisor is internationally leading in the development, simulation, and interpretation of mechanistic mathematical models for biodiversity on large spatial scales. His group has demonstrated the astonishing predictive and explanatory power these models can have for high-level biodiversity patterns and pioneered their use in conservation decision-making.
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.
Surprisingly, much of the astonishing diversity of life that is the subject of traditional ecological research is irrelevant for understanding observed biodiversity patterns at large spatial scales (large compared to the size of individuals). Most of these pattern can be reproduced in simulations of rather simple mathematical models. This project has two entwined objectives.
The first is to understand through a combination of mathematical and computational modelling HOW these large-scale biodiversity patterns arise in simple models and thus, ultimately, in reality. The second is to improve these models to incorporate two essential elements of real systems that they currently lack: the discrete nature of immigration and extirpation processes resulting because species populations are formed from discrete individuals, and the continuous nature of space (most current models assume that landscapes are formed by discrete “patches”).
The research results will have wide-ranging applications e.g. in the conservation of biodiversity in natural ecosystems such as the Amazon forest, in spatial planning for human co-existence with nature, and in the study of microbial communities in the human body and in the wild. To succeed in this project, you will have some interest in biodiversity but more importantly experience in mathematical and computational modelling (ODEs, PDEs, and/or discrete stochastic models) and with approximation techniques used to understand such models.
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 or masters degree in any area relevant to the project. A masters degree is desirable, but not essential.
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 Dr Axel Rossberg at a.rossberg@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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