INEOS Oxbridge Doctoral Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance – Applications open for 7x studentships starting Oct 2023

INEOS Oxbridge Doctoral Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance

The INEOS Oxbridge Doctoral Initiative is a programme from the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research (IOI), University of Oxford and University of Cambridge to train the next generation of outstanding scientific champions to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

This is our call to the brightest minds to join us in tackling the growing global threat of AMR using cutting-edge science and innovation. This presents you with an extraordinary opportunity to make an important scientific contribution while training with internationally leading scientists at Oxford and Cambridge. If this initiative excites you then we encourage you to apply – wherever you are!

The programme offers:

• Immersion in both Universities. Although registered in either Oxford or Cambridge, students will have ample opportunity to spend periods of time as a visitor in the second University, taking part in ongoing collaborations.
• Collaboration. Each project is unique, but there will be the opportunity to collaborate with other students and projects within the initiative, with the additional possibility of input from the industry.
• Funding. Studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years, through the generous support of the Ineos Oxford Institute. This funding covers national University of Cambridge & Oxford fees in addition to living costs (stipend), which will be equivalent to the standard Wellcome stipend rate. International fees can be covered upon the availability of other funding sources.
• Future prospects. By the time you graduate, you will have acquired skills that are in high demand worldwide. This includes expertise in drug discovery, machine learning and analysis of big data. Such skills will support your future ambitions wherever these take you, including academia, pharma and private-sector companies.

Available Projects

Seven projects are available:

1. Targeting Mycobacteria with both Diversity-Oriented Synthesis (DOS) and Structure-Based Approaches. Primary supervisor: Professor David Spring (University of Cambridge)
2. Machine learning-powered design of novel antibiotics. Primary supervisor: Professor José Miguel Hernández-Lobato (University of Cambridge)
3. INEOS Digital Microbiology Hub: a global resource to combat antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Primary Supervisor: Professor Samuel K Sheppard (University of Oxford)
4. Computational Approaches to Targeting Mycobacterial Tuberculosis. Primary supervisor: Professor Fernanda Duarte (University of Oxford)
5. Understanding the economic factors in antibiotic prescribing for neonatal sepsis from LMICs. Primary supervisor: Professor Koen Pouwels (University of Oxford)
6. Microdroplet platform for screening antimicrobials. Primary supervisor: Professor Tuomas Knowles (University of Cambridge)
7. Fragment-based antibiotic discovery for Mycobacterium tuberculosis pneumoniae using machine learning. Primary supervisor: Professor Marko Hyvonen (University of Cambridge)