Birmingham will host doctoral students as part of a new training network that will advance understanding of how microorganism and host genetics interact.
Microorganisms that live on and within our bodies impact almost all of our biological processes. Many areas of research are changing with the realisation that microbiota, their genes and the way they interact with host genetics, are integral to in both basic and applied biology, with direct relevance to many global societal challenges. This realisation has the potential to revolutionise not only basic biology but also applied areas such as agrobiology, biomedicine and biotechnology.
The new Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network (“HoloGen”) is being led by Professor Torgeir R. Hvidsten from Norwegian University of Life Sciences. University of Birmingham is one of eight institutions involved around the world. Professor Lindsay Hall, Chair of Microbiome Research and an expert in unravelling the mysteries of how host-associated microbial communities affect human health, will host the doctoral placement in her team. She also leads on the public engagement arm of the entire network.
I am delighted to be part of this Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network working with exceptional teams across the EU, dedicated to training the next generation of doctoral students in the hologenomics field. Given the fundamental importance of microbes in human and animal health, this initiative is crucial for advancing our understanding and applications in this area.
This EU funding will enable the establishment of a doctoral programme that brings together organisations from different sectors to train highly skilled doctoral candidates to develop the practical implementation of hologenomics, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of host-microbiota interactions and their impact in both basic and applied areas, with direct relevance to many global societal challenges.
There will be 11 doctoral posts at seven universities, all benefitting from top researchers with theoretical knowledge on symbiosis biology, microbial ecology, animal evolution, animal production and biomedicine, as well as practical expertise in large- scale (meta)genomics, DNA sequence analysis, metabolomics, computational biology and biological systems modelling. In total, the network includes 18 partners including universities, research institutes and industry partners.
Project web site: https://www.hologen-network.eu
Chair of Microbiome Research
Staff Profile for Professor Lindsay Hall, Chair of Microbiome Research, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham
