PhD STARS scholarship: Evolutionary and Ecological Immunology 1338 views

STARS is a program supporting talented PhD students at the Faculty of Science, Charles University. The aim of this program is to provide excellent education and an adequate income to PhD students of the Faculty. The STARS program wants to attract the best students from the Czech Republic as well as from abroad.

Start of the program: October 1, 2018

Eligibility:

• The program is open to all applicants holding a master‘s degree or equivalent in sciences, medicine, pharmacology and a related field of study.
• The program is also open to students who are in the last year of their studies and will be able to present their degree diploma at the beginning of their PhD study.
• Applicant must be proficient in English; however, no formal English exam (TOEFL).

Applications:

Following documents are required (MS Word or PDF):

• CV with indication of education (B.Sc./M.Sc. grades and projects)
• List of publications
• Current research interests (motivation)
• Technical skills, languages, awards
• References (e-mail, phone and affiliation of at least two academic referees, who can recommend you for the PhD program application)
• Maximum attachment size is 2 MB

PhD project topics:

Biology

• Comparison of immunomodulatory properties of Mesenchymal stem cells and Sertoli cells
• Opioid and metabolic modulation of microglial function
• Deciphering molecular mechanisms that govern cell expansion in Arabidopsis root
• Cytosolic Iron-Suphur protein assembly pathway in the amitochondriate cell Mitochondrion of retortamonads
• Mechanisms of host immunomodulation by Trichobilharzia regenti: focus on parasite glycans and other immunologically relevant molecules
• Effect of peripheral immune response on neuroinflammation and learning in cognitively advanced birds
• The role of the Jak/STAT signalling cascade in the astrocyte clockwork of the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus
• Dynamic structural and histochemical changes in barley leaf protective mechanisms under elevated CO2 concentration and higher temperature
• Sexual selection and sexual trait evolution in Larix and Arabidopsis spp
• Microbial methane oxidation beneath the Greenland ice sheet
• The role of matrix metalloproteinases and vimentin cooperation in cancer cell invadopodia function
• Link between chronic inflammation and bone homeostasis failure. The role of extracellular nucleic acids and epigenetic mechanisms
• The social perception of sexual dimorphism in human face
• Dynamics and persistence of avian blood parasite infection
• Evolution of brain complexity and processing capacity in reptiles and birds: A quantitative approach to understanding the tetrapod brain evolution

Chemistry

• Design of novel catalysts by modification of labile extra-large pore germanates
• Rational design of hierarchical zeolites for the synthesis of fine chemicals
• Theoretical investigation of novel materials
• Structural studies of 14-3-3 protein complexes
• In vivo foldability/functionality of random sequence protein libraries
• New methods of generation of volatile species for ultra-trace analysis by atomic spectrometric methods
• Supramolecular detection systems based on fluorescent cyclodextrin derivatives bound electrostatically to solid surface
• Modeling of solutions of redox-active polymers for applications in redox flow batteries
• Coordination Compounds for Medicinal Imaging Techniques
• Amphiphilic polymer solutions under confinement: the interplay and competition of entropic, enthalpic and hydrodynamic interactions
• Porous Polymer Catalysts (PPC) Based on Polyacetylene Networks
• Theoretical studies of endohedral fullerenes
• Combination of biophysical and structural analyses for molecular description of interactions of CD69, a human lymphocyte receptor, with its newly described protein ligands

Geography

• Future changes in seasonal snowpack and impacts on spring and summer runoff in mountain areas
• Reconstructing the central sector of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet
• Rapid wastage of the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet as the main contribution to the Meltwater Pulse 1A
• Impact of border processes on socioeconomic development in border regions in Central Europe
• Sustainability of sanitation behaviour change in low- and middle-income countries
• Contemporary changes of social milieu within the post-socialist suburbs
• Public food procurement in Czechia: from theory to practice
• Geodemographic aspects of the take-up and provision of selected healthcare services in Czechia for selected groups of patients

Geology

• Hypoplastic modelling of deformation and stability of internal landfill of open cast coal mine Bílina
• Detecting biomarkers of extremophiles in Martian analogues
• Evolution of endoliths relative to seawater chemistry (Devonian-Recent)
• Heterovalent elements in apatite as proxies for the oxidation state of magmas
• Hypoplastic model for unsaturated expansive clays used in simulations of bentonite homogenization for nuclear waste repositories
• Microtextures and phase changes of anhydrous minerals during subduction of crustal and mantle rock

Environmental studies

• Endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment
• Soil biota under anthropogenic pressure in tropical and temperate soils