PhD Studentship at Welsh School of Pharmacy, UK

PhD Studentship at Welsh School of Pharmacy, UK

PhD Studentship in Drugs from the sea: Exploring marine sponges as a source of novel chemical entities for drug development at Welsh School of Pharmacy, UK

Study Subject(s): Drugs from the sea: Exploring marine sponges as a source of novel chemical entities for drug development
Course Level: PhD
Scholarship Provider: KESS and Universities in Wales, European Social Fund
Scholarship can be taken at: UK

Eligibility: Candidates should satisfy Cardiff University’s admissions criteria (as outlined in the Code of Practice for Research Degrees) – applicants for research PhDs are normally expected to have one or both of the following:
-a first degree, normally with class 2:1 or equivalent in a relevant subject;
-a relevant Master’s qualification or equivalent.
-Have a home or work address in a Convergence area of Wales* at the time of their application to the University.
-Have the right to take up paid work in the Convergence areas of Wales* on completion of the scholarship
-Be classified by the University as ‘home’ or ‘EU’ according to the University’s guidelines

Nature has proved to be a rich source of chemically diverse organic compounds for drug development. Marine sponges are noted for the production of natural products that exhibit potent anti-cancer activity. It has been widely reported that many pharmaceutical companies are currently lacking lead compounds in their development pipelines and there has been a recent resurgence of interest in natural product chemistry to deliver new leads for the pharmaceutical pipeline. The aim of this project is to undertake a systematic study of marine natural products derived from sponges sourced from the eastern Mediterranean. The project will focus on the isolation, biological screening, and full chemical characterisation of compounds exhibiting interesting biological activity. The project will extend our previous experience of marine drug discovery, focussing on the anti-cancer and anti-microbial activity of marine sponge extracts. It will be supported by a collaboration with School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University and an industrial partnership with Sarum Biosciences to explore the use of counter-current chromatography as a preparative separation technique. Overall, the projects aims to identify and fully characterise sponge-derived organic natural products that could be potential lead compounds for pharmaceutical development.

How to Apply: Online

Scholarship Application Deadline: 17 June 2011
For further information, go to: http://infoscholarship.net