NERC RED-ALERT Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT); University of Exeter
🔬 Research Focus
- How environmental, sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and other chemicals (e.g., biocides, pharmaceuticals, plant protection products) contribute to AMR via co-selection.
- Whether chemical mixtures are synergistic, additive or antagonistic in their ability to drive resistance.
- Field sampling in real river catchments (“Living Labs”) to characterise chemical mixtures and AMR levels.
- Controlled laboratory experiments to test how river microbial communities respond to these mixtures under different conditions.
- Use of microbiology (culture, qPCR), sequencing, and mass spectrometry to link chemical exposure to changes in microbial communities and resistomes.
🏛️ Partners & Impact
- Host Institutions / Supervisors: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), University of Exeter, University of Bath.
- Supervisory Team Expertise: AMR, environmental pollution, analytical chemistry, microbial ecology.
- Industrial / Policy Partner: South West Water is a partner.
- Real-World Relevance: Freshwaters are key recipients of AMR agents + chemical pollutants, making this work critical for understanding environmental and public health risks.
🧪 Training & Skills Development
- Fieldwork: sampling rivers, assessing in-situ chemical and microbial loads.
- Lab Techniques: microbial culturing, qPCR, advanced sequencing, mass spectrometry.
- Data Analysis: bioinformatics, statistics.
- Professional Training: Through the Red-ALERT CDT programme — interdisciplinary courses, engagement with policy / industry, science communication.
🎯 Who Should Apply
- Students interested in AMR, environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, microbiology, or molecular biology
- Someone who wants to bridge environmental science and public health
- Someone who enjoys both fieldwork and lab experiments
- Those motivated by real-world impact, translation of science into policy / mitigation strategies
⭐ Why This PhD Matters
- Novelty: Moves beyond studying single antibiotics — explores how combinations of chemicals shape AMR in nature.
- One Health Relevance: Freshwater ecosystems are both a receptor for pollution and a pathway for AMR transmission to humans.
- Policy Impact: Data could inform environmental risk assessments, regulatory decisions, and mitigation strategies.
- Interdisciplinary Training: You’ll be embedded in a network (Red-ALERT CDT) that brings together ecology, chemistry, modelling, and water management.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 on Friday 16 January 2026.
Formal applications should be submitted via the Red-ALERT CDT online application form
For more information, please see NERC RED-ALERT CDT: Understanding the Impact of Chemical Mixtures on Antimicrobial Resistance in Freshwater Ecosystems