PhD in Small Non-Coding Rnas

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterised by problems with memory, movement, sleep, and psychiatric symptoms. The project will investigate whether small non-coding RNAs can provide disease-specific signatures for DLB, and whether these could be developed into biomarkers. The student will sequence small RNAs from blood samples of healthy controls and individuals with DLB or AD and will use advanced bioinformatics to analyse small RNA expression across disease groups and sub-traits characteristic of DLB. Predictive modelling will test whether the most informative small RNAs can reliably distinguish between dementias in large independent datasets. The project will also include analysis of post-mortem tissue datasets. /nThis research is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Universities of Exeter and Newcastle. Exeter will be the host institution. The supervisory team includes Professor Katie Lunnon, Professor John Paul-Taylor, and Dr Joshua Harvey. /nThe studentship will cover Home tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £21,800 for 4 years full-time. Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply but the award covers only part of the international tuition fee (approximately £26,000) and does not include a stipend for living expenses.