MSCA Individual Fellowships – Mother and infant microbiomes in child undernutrition

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MSCA Individual Fellowships – Mother and infant microbiomes in child undernutrition

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Dr. Ruairi Robertson is seeking motivated postdocs to apply for an MSCA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London ( ), to study maternal and infant microbiomes in the context of child undernutrition using metagenomics bioinformatics and/or organoid/organ-on-chip models of the gut barrier. The Blizard Institute is a multi-disciplinary research institute focussed on molecular and translational science. It has excellent infrastructure for clinical studies, microbiology, tissue culture (including organ-on-chip systems via the QMUL Centre for Predictive in vitro Models) and next generation sequencing (QMUL Genome Centre).Research projectsExtensive evidence from high income settings shows strong associations between the infant gut microbiome and chronic inflammatory disorders such as asthma and allergy. However, less is known about the development of the gut microbiome in children in low- and middle-income countries where there is a high burden of diarrheal infections, malnutrition and other environmental insults. We have recently published longitudinal data on the maturation of the gut microbiome in children from 1-18 months of age in rural Zimbabwe ( ) showing that the gut microbiome was predictive of early-life growth. We are now interested in examining how different bacteria affect the functioning of the intestinal epithelium in early life and how different nutritional interventions may affect this interaction. We have a biobank of stool samples collected from infants from multiple studies in rural Zimbabwe and plan to set up organ/organ-on-chip co-culture models to study gut-microbiome interactions at the epithelial barrier.As birthweight is the strongest predictor of child stunting, we are also interested in maternal microbiomes during pregnancy and how they influence fetal and neonatal growth. We have previously shown that the maternal gut microbiome predicts birth weight in Zimbabwe ( ). We have recently completed a large randomized controlled trial studying the effects of an antibiotic (co-trimoxazole) during pregnancy on birthweight. As part of this trial, we have longitudinal vaginal swabs, stool samples and oral samples collected from mothers throughout pregnancy and their infants at 1 and 6 weeks of age. We are interested in how maternal stool, vaginal and oral microbiomes predict preterm birth/birthweight in low-resource settings, how the antibiotic intervention during pregnancy influence maternal and infant microbiomes and which bacterial strains are transmitted from mother to infant in this context.HostDr. Ruairi Robertson is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Microbiome Science in the Blizard Institute ( ). He has a Ph.D in Microbiology from University College Cork and has previously been awarded two early-career research fellowships (Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship, Wellcome Trust; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, European Commission) to conduct his research in the Blizard Institute, the Institut Pasteur and University of British Columbia. As a new group leader, Dr. Robertson will provide close supervision of any successful fellow whilst providing full independence for fellows to drive the project in the direction of their research interest and skills.FellowWe are seeking motivated postdoctoral fellows with experience in metagenomics/bioinformatics, bacterial isolation/cultivation or experience working with organoid/organ-on-chip models. Candidates are free to pursue wet lab, dry lab or combined projects using the metagenomics data and/or samples described above. Candidates will be expected to have the independence to design and drive their own research project with close supervision from the host supervisor. The project will require close working relationships with other staff members within the institute and therefore evidence of effective teamwork will also be required.Share this page

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London

Job date

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 03:52:15 GMT

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