Kit Yates

[Fees plus a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7.] PhD studentship at the University of Exeter on modelling coevolution in aquatic environments shaped by flow. This funded doctoral project explores how microbes and viruses coevolve when fluid flow separates and reconnects populations in aquatic systems. The research asks how historical coevolution influences future interactions, how long coevolutionary signatures persist, and what happens when descendants encounter one another again after periods of isolated evolution. You will work at the interface of physics, biology, and computation, using physical modelling, agent-based simulations, analytical calculations, and machine learning. The project begins with prototypical flow fields to test biological hypotheses, then extends to more complex ocean-like systems. A hybrid modelling approach will be developed, combining the efficiency of concentration-based models with the stochastic detail of agent-based simulations. The supervisory team includes Wolfram Moebius and Daniel Kattnig at Exeter, with collaboration from Adam Monier on marine applications and Kit Yates (Bath) on hybrid simulation methods. Research will be based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Living Systems Institute, offering a cross-disciplinary environment with strong expertise in model building, simulations, and evolutionary dynamics. Funding is provided by EPSRC and includes fees plus a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7. Applicants should be interested in modelling, simulation, and interdisciplinary research linking physics and biology, with an emphasis on aquatic and oceanic ecosystems. Application deadline: 08 Dec 2026.