Nitrogen (N) is fundamental to all life on Earth, from building proteins to DNA telling life what to do. Nitrogen exists largely as di-nitrogen gas (N2) in our atmosphere, with only a small fraction being found in the organic N of living organisms. After death and decay, organic N decomposes to ammonia and –according to current understanding– ammonia is then recycled back to atmospheric N2 by couplings between distinct aerobic (nitrification) and anaerobic microbes (denitrification and anammox). A couple of years ago we challenged this view with strong evidence for a direct aerobic route from ammonia back to atmospheric N2 gas, in oxic riverbeds, that cuts the established N cycle in half. Others have published accounts of pure aerobic cultures of Alcaligenes (HO-1) oxidising ammonia to N2 gas, yet we know Alcaligenes (HO-1) is not present in our samples. Here you will use a variety of stable isotope tracer techniques (15N-NH3, 15N-NO2-) with mass-spectrometry and gas-chromatography in combination with molecular microbial techniques (q-PCR, RT-qPCR, next-generation sequencing, network analyses) to both identify candidates for the oxic production of N2 gas and further characterise the regulation of this novel process in both natural and enriched communities.
You will be trained in state-of-the-art stable isotope analytical techniques including for trace gases and solids and the related analytical chemistry techniques needed to prepare samples for isotope analyses. You will also be trained in a variety of gas-chromatography and oxygen sensing techniques. Other training will be provided for the microbial molecular parts of your PhD including a range of genomics technologies from nucleic acid isolation to sequencing library preparation, wider data analysis and presentation skills. You can see more about my research here.
Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.
We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Environmental microbiology/sciences, freshwater/marine/ecology, microbiology
Knowledge of stable isotopes, mass-spectrometry, gas-chromatography, molecular microbial ecology would be highly advantageous but are not required.
You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 1st March 2025. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.
Please find further details on our English Language requirements page.
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 29th January 2025 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Prof Mark Trimmer at m.trimmer@qmul.ac.uk Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL 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 with the support of the supervisor.
For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.
Apply Online