Project opportunity
This Earmarked Scholarship project is aligned with a recently awarded Category 1 research grant. It offers you the opportunity to work with leading researchers and contribute to large projects of national significance.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative condition affecting 1% of people aged ≥60-years. There is no cure, and the number of affected individuals is rising steeply as populations age. Understanding the genetic basis of PD is critical to developing new therapeutics to counter the growing disease burden. Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of PD have identified nearly 100 risk loci, but interpretation of these findings remains challenging; we do not yet know the identity of most PD risk genes, nor the specific cell types in which they act, nor when they act during the course of disease, which hampers efforts to identify targets for interventions. To address these challenges, this project will integrate summary data from large-scale PD GWAS with single nucleus ATAC-seq and RNA-seq in PD-related brain regions to identify specific cell types and genes involved in the onset and progression of Lewy body pathology.
Scholarship value
As a scholarship recipient, you'll receive:
- living stipend of $32,192 per annum tax free (2023 rate), indexed annually
- tuition fees covered
- single Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
Supervisor
Faculty of Medicine
Email: jacob.gratten@mater.uq.edu.au
Preferred educational background
Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.
We take into account your
- previous academic record
- publication record
- honours and awards
- employment history.
A working knowledge of common disease genetics, statistics, human genomics and high-performance computing would be of benefit to someone working on this project.
The applicant will demonstrate academic achievement in the field(s) of statistics and/or bioinformatics and/or human genetics and the potential for scholastic success.
A background or knowledge of statistics, high-performance computing, human genetics and neurodegenerative disease is highly desirable.
Latest commencement date
If you are the successful candidate, you must commence by Research Quarter 1, 2023. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date.
If you are an international applicant, you may need to apply much earlier for visa requirements.
How to apply
You apply for this project as part of your PhD program application.