Graduate research training wins for IBERS

IBERS postgraduate student

Five iCASE PhD Studentship grants worth £452,000 have been awarded to Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) by the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) in the latest round of funding.

CASE studentships (formerly known as 'Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering') are collaborative training grants that provide students with a first-rate challenging research training experience, allowing top quality bioscience graduates to undertake research, leading to a PhD, within the context of a mutually beneficial research collaboration between academic and partner organisations.

IBERS CASE Studentships have been awarded to the following projects:

Dr Kerrie Farrar         
Endophytic bacteria: co-existence and chemical warfare.

Professor Iain Donnison                      
Improved establishment phase development and yield in the perennial bioenergy crop Miscanthus.

Dr Maurice Bosch                   
Investigating the feasibility of a multi-conversion Miscanthus bioenergy crop.

Dr Russ Morphew                   
Pandas and parasites: A functional genomics approach to combat persistent Baylisascaris schroederi infection in captive giant pandas. 

Dr Hazel Davey                         
Viability and vitality in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: modelling for prediction of fermentation success from rapid measurements.

Prof Paul Shaw, Director of Postgraduate Studies at IBERS said; “This is excellent news for IBERS with a high percentage of our applications being approved in this round. It will enable us to provide five strong biological science graduates with the resources to hone their research skills, utilising IBERS’ world class facilities and working with industrial partners across a wide range of commercial sectors.”

The BBSRC supports postgraduate training to help ensure the flow of highly qualified people into careers within and outside academia, seeking to support scientists throughout their careers though a range of activities

The PhD is the first step towards a career in research, and provides training for a range of opportunities. IBERS-based BBSRC students have gone on to work in academia, industry, government research and a range of other careers.

The BBSRC funds around 2000 PhD students each year in universities, research institutes or industrial partners, with an approximate funding total of £43.5m p.a.

IBERS
The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is an internationally recognised research and teaching centre providing a unique base for research in response to global challenges such as food security, bioenergy and sustainability, and the impacts of climate change. IBERS scientists conduct basic, strategic and applied research from genes and molecules to organisms and the environment. 

IBERS receives strategic research funding of £10.5m from the BBSRC to support long term mission driven research, and is a member of the National Institutes of Bioscience. IBERS also benefits from financial support from the Welsh Government, DEFRA and the European Union.

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