Does chemical exposure in urban systems drive microbial community structure and function to mitigate pollution risks? University of York in United Kingdom

Are you passionate about solving complex environmental challenges? Interested in creating non-toxic urban spaces that benefit society and nature alike? This exciting PhD project, part of the NERC-funded ECOSOLUTIONS Doctoral Focal Award, offers the opportunity to help tackle the problem of chemical pollution in urban environments.

About the Project

Urban environments are a major source of chemical exposure that pose a risk to environmental and public health. Aquatic systems facilitate the dispersal of chemicals through and from urban systems, e.g. from industry, hospitals and households through WWTPs, runoff from roads and built environments, and atmospheric deposition. Microbial communities and their ability to adapt to chemical exposure and other multi-stressors play a crucial role in ensuring the resilience of aquatic-based ecosystem services in these urban landscapes. Microbes also play a key role in reducing the environmental exposure of pollution through biodegradation.

This project will use analytical chemistry, microbiological and molecular approaches to determine the extent to which chemical exposure in urban systems is driving adaptation within aquatic microbial communities (in rivers, lakes, ponds, wastewater treatment plants) and the impact that chemical exposure is having on microbial community structure, function and resilience. Bioinformatics will be used to assess the metagenomic and meta-transcriptomic catabolic/ biodegradative potential of microbes in these urban systems versus ‘pristine’ control sites.

This project has widespread policy and regulatory applications as current approaches to persistence and biodegradability screening excludes the use of adapted microbial inocula and dismisses microbial adaptation as a natural phenomenon. In parallel to field studies, laboratory-based adaptation will be simulated using pre- or semi-continuous exposure. This will be used to determine the rates and extent of adaptation to chemical exposure and its impact on microbial community structure/ function. This will be used to shape OECD biodegradation test guidelines and regulatory frameworks for assessing chemical hazards and risk.

The ECOSOLUTIONS DFA

Led by the Universities of Sheffield and York and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, ECOSOLUTIONS is a cutting-edge, transdisciplinary initiative. This innovative programme combines science, policy, and societal engagement to transform chemicals policy and management, enabling a safe, sustainable chemicals sector and non-toxic environments. This project is one of 13 projects that are available for the first ECOSOLUTIONS cohort who will work together to begin to understand and solve the problems of chemical pollution in urban environments.

What You will Gain

As an ECOSOLUTIONS PhD student, you will work with world-leading experts across diverse fields such as ecology, chemistry, geography, environmental engineering, policy, and law. You will learn to tackle the risks posed by chemicals while enabling their societal benefits, adopting a whole-systems and solutions-focused approach.

?       Three-month secondment: Work with Unilever and Scymaris, applying your research in real-world contexts.

?       International conferences: Share your findings and network with global experts.

The skills you will need

To do this project you will need the following essential skills: Laboratory skills; Data analysis and/or modelling.

Eligibility:

To be considered for the ECOSOLUTIONS DFA, you will need at least an upper 2 ^nd class honours degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline.

As a collaboration of international research-led universities, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. Within our programme, we are dedicated to diversifying our community.

As part of our ongoing work to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we strongly encourage applications from UK/Home candidates from identified underrepresented groups: Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, and disabled people.

Start Your Research Career with ECOSOLUTIONs:

This PhD is part of the ECOSOLUTIONS Doctoral Focal Award, a prestigious NERC-funded program dedicated to training the next generation of environmental practitioners. For more details and a full list of other PhD projects under this programme, visit: https://ecosolutions.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/