PhD Studentship: CENTA 2027-B02 Microbial lipid cycling in the oceans: an integrated ‘omics’ approach

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 21,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual stipend

Tuition fees covered (home level)

Research Training Support Grant

International student entry support

Job summary

University of Birmingham is offering a doctoral studentship to investigate microbial lipid cycling in marine environments. The project combines laboratory and field-based methods to map lipid transformations and microbial contributors in surface waters and coastal sediments.

The funded position covers stipend, home-fee tuition, and a Research Training Support Grant with an emphasis on training in advanced lipidomics and omics approaches.

Qualifications

• Academic requirements: at least a 2:1 UK Bachelor’s degree or a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent.
• Funding covers stipend, tuition fees at home-fee level and Research Training Support Grant.
• English language requirements for international applicants are specified by the university.

Responsibilities

• Establish a high-throughput workflow for determining lipid species in marine waters.
• Determine identity and activity of key microbial populations using integrated omics.
• Collaborate with teams and vessels to collect and analyse samples.
• Disseminate findings through reports, publications and seminars.

Skills

Lipidomics

LC-ESI-MS

Omics

Metagenomics

RNA sequencing

Bioinformatics

Education

2:1 UK Bachelor’s level or MSc level

Tools

HPLC MS platform

16S/18S rRNA sequencing

Metagenomics

Job description

Lipids, containing carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur, are a major component of all living cells and are constantly released into the oceans due to programmed cell death, viral infections and zooplankton grazing. Current estimates suggest that lipids can account for 10% of total dissolved organic matter (DOC) in the oceans. However, our knowledge on microbial lipid transformation in the oceans is very limited. Neither the identities of the microbes involved, nor the mechanisms by which lipids are degraded, have been well understood.

A major hurdle in understanding the microbial lipid cycle lies in the difficulty in characterizing and quantifying numerous lipid classes in marine samples. Commonly observed lipids in marine ecosystems include phospholipids, glycolipids and amino acid-containing lipids. Recent advances in technologies such as liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) has enabled high throughput identification and quantification of thousands of cellular lipid molecular species (Shevchenko, 2010), which now enables lipid characterization both qualitatively and quantitatively. Indeed, lipidomics is starting to complement the rapid progress made in genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics and proteomics.

Here in this project, we will combine laboratory and filed based methodologies to fully uncover the lipid cycle in marine waters. The aim of this project is thus twofold,

Firstly, we aim to establish a high throughput workflow for simultaneous determination of common lipids species in marine surface waters using our in house HPLC MS platform. This will involve examining samples from the Western English Channel, collected via the Marine Biological Association research vessel, Sepia.

Secondly, we aim to determine the identity and activity of key microbial populations in the recycling of representative lipids in marine surface waters and coastal marine sediment using integrated omics approach, e.g. high throughput sequencing of 16S/18S rRNA, metagenomics, metagenomics and lipidomics.

Funding notes:

This project is offered through the CENTA3 DLA, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Funding covers: annual stipend, tuition fees (at home-fee level), Research Training Support Grant.

Academic requirements: at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent.

International students are eligible for studentships to a maximum of 30% of the cohort. Funding does not cover any additional costs relating to moving or residing in the UK. International applicants must fulfil the University of Birmingham’s international student entry requirements, including English language.

Further information: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/pgt/requirements-pgt/international/index.aspx.

References:

Shevchenko A, Simons K. 2010 Lipidomics: coming to grips with lipid diversity. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 11:593-598.

Westermann et al., 2023 Bacterial catabolism of membrane phospholipids links marine biogeochemical cycles. Science Advances 9 (17), eadf5122

Merchant SS, Helmann JD 2012 Elemental Economy: Microbial Strategies for Optimizing Growth in the Face of Nutrient Limitation. Adv Microb Physiol 60:92-210.

Guillonneau, et al 2022 Trade-offs of lipid remodeling in a marine predator–prey interaction in response to phosphorus limitation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119 (36), e2203057119.

Wang N, et al., 2025 Structural basis and evolutionary pathways of glycerol-1-phosphate transport in marine bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Dec 16;122(50): e2524546122.