An opportunity for a 3.5 year PhD, titled “Food Safety for All: developing invertebrate models for monitoring phytoplankton toxicity in shellfish”, has arisen. Led by the University of Plymouth (Dr Turner, Professor Spicer), Nitte University (Dr Karunasagar) and the Marine Biological Association (Dr Stern), applicants with a relevant honours degree, and preferably a relevant Masters qualification, are invited to apply.
Capture fisheries and aquaculture-based seafood production is increasing to feed the world’s population. At the same time, harmful algal blooms are increasing, with devastating impacts.
The aim of the PhD studentship is to develop a reliable marine invertebrate model for seafood-algal toxicity testing, for use in developing countries to remove the need for expensive equipment, and to comply with increasing ethical questions.
Dr Rowena Stern, Research Fellow with the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) at the MBA, will act as co-supervisor for the project. Rowena is interested in long-term ecological patterns of plankton. She is currently focused on improving marine health by looking at the biological and physical drivers of harmful algae and microbes. Read more about Rowena’s work, here.
To discover more about this PhD opportunity and how to apply, click here.
For the University of Plymouth’s Postgraduate Research Studentships Page, click here.
