Background
By 2050 the number of people aged 60 years and over is projected to reach 2 billion, of which an estimated 131 million will have dementia. Preventing or delaying the onset of the disease is a public health priority as dementia has profound implications for the individual and society. Dementia is a multifactorial disease and solutions that target its various risk factors are urgently required. Evidence suggests a protective role of certain dietary patterns (e.g. the ‘Mediterranean’ diet) or specific dietary components, including B-vitamins. As diet can be modified, it offers a strategy to potentially reduce the risk of developing dementia.
The gut microbiome (the totality of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and their collective genetic material present in the gastrointestinal tract) is taxonomically diverse and plays a vital role in health and disease. The microbiota of older people displays greater inter-individual variation and differs from the core microbiota and diversity levels of younger adults. This shift in the composition, function, and phylogenetic diversity of the gut microbiota (i.e. dysbiosis) is influenced by many factors including diet and is associated with several chronic diseases. In recent years this has led to considerable interest in understanding how the gut and brain are connected (the gut-brain axis) and how this connection is influenced by the gut microbiota.
Although most evidence comes from animal studies, research shows dementia patients have reduced diversity and altered microbiota composition compared to those without the disease and the gut microbiome is associated with cognitive performance in healthy community dwelling adults. Modulating the gut microbiome through dietary means could be beneficial in supporting healthy ageing.
PhD project
This project will utilise and build on a large all-island collaborative research project that has been developed over the last 10 years - the Trinity-Ulster, Department of Agriculture (TUDA) cohort study, providing extensive health data on over 5000 adults of 60+ years across Ireland. The TUDA resource was established to assess nutritional, environmental and clinical factors in relation to health in ageing and has recently been extended to involve an in-depth investigation of genetic factors in relation to the ageing process, along with study of the gut microbiome. This PhD project is a nutrition-microbiology collaboration and will extend ongoing work by using state-of-the-art methodologies to investigate the composition and function of the gut microbiome. The overall aim will be to explore how the gut microbiome is influenced by diet and other environmental factors and the impact on brain health in TUDA participants. Next generation microbiome sequencing approaches will be applied to provide high taxonomic and functional resolution of the gut microbiome; allowing relationships between diet, cognitive function and the overall microbiome to be examined. This combination of cutting-edge nutritional research with microbiome analysis has the potential to have a significant impact on our understanding of human health and wellbeing.
This project will suit applicants who have excellent interpersonal skills and are willing to engage in collaborative research in Cork with the APC Microbiome Institute, encompassing Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) & Teagasc, to learn new laboratory skills and techniques for characterising microbiome composition and diversity.
Key references
Caracciolo B, Xu W, Collins S, et al. (2014) Cognitive decline, dietary factors and gut-brain interactions. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development. 136-137: 59-69.
Clooney AG, Fouhy F, Sleator RD, et al. (2016) Comparing Apples and Oranges?: Next Generation Sequencing and Its Impact on Microbiome Analysis. PLoS ONE 11(2): e0148028.
McCann A, McNulty H, Rigby J, et al. (2018) Effect of Area-Level Socioeconomic Deprivation on Risk of Cognitive Dysfunction in Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 66(7): 1269-1275.
Moore K, Hughes CF, Ward M, et al. (2018) Diet, nutrition and the ageing brain: current evidence and new directions. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 77(2): 152-163.
Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.
We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.
In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.
If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.
The University offers the following levels of support:
The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:
These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.
The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).
This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living
Submission deadline
Friday 7 February 2020
12:00AM
Interview Date
9 to 20 March 2020
Preferred student start date
Mid September 2020
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