PhD project opportunities on Tasmanian devils and their contagious cancer School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
Project: Co-infection, stress and contagious cancer in the Tasmanian devil Tasmanian devils, the world's largest marsupial carnivore, are endangered by a novel contagious cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). Almost all devils die within 6 months of tumours appearing and the disease has now spread to most of the devil's range causing more than 90% local population decline. This cancer has developed sophisticated mechanisms to evade the immune system of the devil but a few individuals can mount an immune response. In our wild study populations, we have recently monitored devils with tumours that have subsequently regressed and devils that are living much longer than expected, both healthy devils and devils that have tumours. The internal host environment may play a role in the ability of the devil to tolerate or even overcome the tumour. Devils are co-infected with a range of other parasites and pathogens, which with reproductive stress and hormones during breeding can cause immunosuppression and even behaviour changes. This project will involve studying the health, stress and immune status of the devil and its role in susceptibility to DFTD. It will be cosupervised by Dr Scott Carver and Dr Rodrigo Hamede. What kind of person could do this project? This is a field-based project that involves trapping and handling wild Tasmanian devils taking samples, including blood samples and non-invasive samples for stress and parasite assessment. Project funding: This project has some funding in the first year. The PhD student will apply for small grants available to students. Scholarships: Domestic students (Australia and New Zealand) can apply for an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) through the University of Tasmania worth $24,653, with merit-based schemes available for top-ups. International students: UTAS offers a number of schemes by which international students can obtain a scholarship; some offer assistance with tuition fees. Prospective candidates are also encouraged to seek scholarship schemes from their own country. When to apply: Scholarship applications can be submitted any time of year. The outcome of applications is usually known within 6 weeks and commencement can start immediately following acceptance. UTAS provides a free laptop to all PhD students and funding schemes for international conference attendance during the PhD. More information: http://www.utas.edu.au/zoology/ Contact: Dr Menna Jones Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Phone: +61 407 815606 ======================================= Dr Menna Jones | ARC Future Fellow School of Zoology University of Tasmania Private Bag 5, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Ph: +61 407 815606 | Fax: +61 3 62262745 Web: http://fcms.its.utas.edu.au/scieng/zoo/pagedetails.asp?lpersonId=1321 =======================================
