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PhD Studentship: Addressing the Place of Microorganisms in the Nagoya Protocol: Microbial Biogeography, Genomics and Taxonomy - University of Essex
MASTS
Posted on Nov 30, 2024
Qualification Type: PhD
Location: Colchester
Funding for: UK Students, Self-funded Students
Funding amount: Living costs stipend at the UK Research and Innovation recommended level per year. The stipend for 2024-25 is £19,237. The rate for 2025-26 TBA.
Hours: Full Time
Placed On: 21st November 2024
Closes: 7th February 2025
Reference: 11365 Life Sci_Law Oct 2025
Project Overview
This is an opportunity to conduct fully funded interdisciplinary research under the ‘Sustainable Transitions – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme’ at the University of Essex.
This project will investigate the ambiguities and scientific challenges concerning the place of microorganisms in the Nagoya Protocol with a view to proposing pathways towards clarification.
In 2014 the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization was established. It focuses on resources deriving from vascular plants and animals. While microbes are included, issues around their global distribution and the definition of a microbial species have created crucial legal and taxonomic ambiguities, which have significant implications for industry and human communities where industrially desirable microbes are located.
Microbes are ubiquitous. One gram of soil, for example, contains around a billion microbes and thousands of species. They, are fundamental to biotechnologies that underpin the transition to a more sustainable world. For example they can improve crop yields, clean up pollutants, and convert waste into valuable products ranging from fuels to biodegradable plastics.
Therefore research objectives include:
Understanding how to reconcile, and improve, microbial taxonomic delineation in the context of the Nagoya Protocol.
Understanding how the global distribution of microbes differ across taxa, and what the implications are for the Nagoya Protocol.
Interdisciplinary Focus and Methods
The PhD will integrate analysis of microbial datasets, through lab and/or field experiments, as part of a broader analysis to understand how microbes can be better integrated within the Nagoya Protocol. The interdisciplinarity lies at the interface between the scientific understanding of microbes and international law.
Person Specification
This opportunity would ideally suit a candidate with a background in biological or environmental science discipline. The candidate must have good data-analysis skills, and an interest in developing knowledge and expertise in environmental law.
It is not necessary for the candidate to have prior training in international law or environmental law as this will be provided on the programme.