Global Doctoral scholarship - St Andrews and Bonn - Psychology and Neuroscience

Application period opens
Wednesday 1 January 2025
Application period closes
Friday 21 March 2025
Entry
2025

The University of St Andrews and the University of Bonn are pleased to offer a scholarship funded by both institutions, to support an exceptional student undertaking doctoral research in the following project: Competition in the brain: the neural basis of behavioural decision-making.

It is expected that the degree will begin at one partner University, then progress to the other partner at approximately the half-way mark.

The student may start their degree at any point in the academic year 2024-2025 prior to a final entry date of 27 May 2025, subject to agreement with the supervisory team.

Project

Life as an animal is a constant process of choosing between actions: do I look for food, escape from a predator, find a mate, or stay on the sofa? Many of these actions are mutually exclusive, so decisions must carefully balance the importance of the animal’s various needs. Animals do this by taking into account the world around them, which tells them what is available in their surroundings (for example,  food or a predator), and the world within themselves, which informs them of their own needs (for example, hunger or survival). Many decades of work has focused on how exactly cells with the brain perceive the world, and more recent studies have begun to uncover how animals register their own needs. However, how these factors are integrated to produce the adaptive behaviour that an animal needs to survive is still largely unclear. How is it decided which action is favourable? How does it get selected, with all competing actions repressed? Key will be to see how the brain integrates different, at times opposing external and internal signals, and how these combine to produce behaviour.

The main reason why this important question remains unanswered is a lack of tools to comprehensively study the brain and spinal cord. This proposal aims to overcome this problem by taking advantage of the unique strengths of the Drosophila larva as a model organism, in combination with cutting-edge neuroscience tools. The Drosophila larva has an interesting set of behaviours, yet has a small number of neurons, each uniquely identifiable and amenable to both activity imaging and manipulations. Crucially, the project supervisors are part of a collaborative effort to complete a full connectivity map (‘connectome’) of its nervous system, allowing us to see how each neuron within the brain is connected. This project will harness the breakthrough technologies of whole-brain lightsheet microscopy, optogenetics, and connectomics to understand how the behaviour of the animal is adapted to suit its needs.

The student will aim to identify which cells are involved, and how they affect decision-making. They will do this by 1) using lightsheet microscopy to determine which cells in the brain and spinal cord differ in their activity in response to various sensory cues when the internal needs are different (specifically, when the animal is hungry or not) in the context of feeding and locomotion and 2) using optogenetics, which uses light to switch on or off specific cell types, seeing what effect the activity of these specific cells of interest has on the animal’s ability to produce different behaviours. The student will be able to generate different combinations of internal and external factors, and see how the activity of specific neural cells relates to behavioural decision-making in response to them. Combined with the connectome, which the student will work on to contribute to its completion, these results will produce an integrative view of the generation of the animal’s behavioural repertoire.

The project addresses a question that lies at the heart of our understanding of the neural basis of behaviour, and will test how brains determine which action to take. Its results have implications for how brains across the animal kingdom -including ours- are designed. The student recruited to the project will receive training in cutting-edge techniques in a rapidly evolving field, and will, in addition to the core results, produce a database of brain cell types that are of interest for follow-up studies. The project will set the stage for an international partnership that will be well positioned to investigate brain function in health and disease.

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at St Andrews and the Life and Medical Sciences Institute at Bonn. The student will be supervised by Dr Maarten Zwart (St Andrews) and Professor Michael Pankratz (Bonn).

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to the co-supervisors, Dr Maarten Zwart at mfz@st-andrews.ac.uk and Professor Michael Pankratz at pankratz@uni-bonn.de.

Value of award (per year)

The funding comprises a scholarship equivalent of a full fees award and stipend for a period of up to 3.5 years for tuition and maintenance. It is expected that the student will spend half of the scholarship term at the University of St Andrews and half at the University of Bonn:

  • For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarship will comprise a full fees award and a stipend paid at the current UK Research Council rate (£19,237 each year in 2024–2025)
  • For the period spent at the University of Bonn, the scholarship will comprise a monthly maintenance grant of €1,500. The University of Bonn does not charge any tuition fees, but students must pay a so-called social contribution once per semester (currently €315 per semester)

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

  • Any continuation, extension, or resubmission period or fees
  • A research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses
  • Support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years. The student will be expected to spend approximately half of the award term at the University of St Andrews and half at the University of Bonn. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

Application restrictions

Study level

Available to students studying at:

Postgraduate

Subjects

Available to students studying:

Psychology and Neuroscience (St Andrews) and Life and Medical Sciences Institute (Bonn)

Domicile for fee status

No restrictions

Schools

Available to students in the following Schools and Departments:

Psychology and Neuroscience

Application assessment

Academic merit

Available to

Prospective students

Mode of study

Full time

Geographical criteria

No restrictions

Additional criteria

Eligibility – University of St Andrews

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met.

For St Andrews, please refer to details of how to apply and of entry requirements.

Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree or be matriculated for a doctoral degree at either the University of St Andrews or the University of Bonn, or another institution.

How to apply

Submit an application to Dr Maarten Zwart (mfz@st-andrews.ac.uk). Applications should include the following information:

  • CV, including information about publications (publications are not a requirement).
  • Transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees.
  • Information about laboratory and other relevant experience.
  • Statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words)
  • The names of 2-3 referees (or letters of reference).

Suitable applicants will be invited for interview via video call with the prospective supervisors.

Following a successful application for the scholarship, candidates may be invited to apply to both universities for admission into the program and award of the scholarship.

Please indicate in this application that you wish to be considered for this scholarship, Global Doctoral Scholarship Pankratz-Zwart.

Please read the terms and conditions for scholarships at St Andrews and contact us at pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have any questions regarding the scholarship.

Successful scholarship applicants will be invited to apply for admission to both universities from the end of March 2025, and then formal outcomes of the position will be made, subject to provision of full application details and materials for entry to the programme at the agreed entry point in 2025-2026.

Successful scholarship applicants must meet all relevant entry requirements for admission including any immigration requirements that may be in place. Please see the advice on applying for research degree programmes at St Andrews and the PhD application guidelines at Bonn.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions.

Students will enrol at both institutions from the outset. It is expected that the successful student will begin the programme of study at Bonn to initiate the research and move to St Andrews at a later date, full details to be agreed with the supervisory team and the respective institutions. Overall, the programme of study will include 50% at each institution. The student may start their degree at any point in the academic year 2025-2026 prior to a final entry date of 27 May 2026 subject to agreement with the supervisory team.

These are applicable during the St Andrews duration of the award; please consult the partner institution for their terms and conditions relating to scholarships.

Awards are subject to final signatures of contractual relationships between the parties, and are not an indication of admission to the doctoral programme. Successful scholarship applicants must apply to both institutions and meet all relevant entry requirements for admission including any immigration requirements that may be in place.

Doctoral Research at St Andrews

As a doctoral student at the University of St Andrews you will be part of a growing, vibrant, and intellectually stimulating postgraduate community. St Andrews is one of the leading research-intensive universities in the world and offers a postgraduate experience of remarkable richness.

St Leonard’s Postgraduate College is at the heart of the postgraduate community of St Andrews. The College supports all postgraduates and aims to provide opportunities for postgraduates to come together, socially and intellectually, and make new connections.

St Leonard’s Postgraduate College works closely with the Postgraduate Society which is one of the most active societies within the Students’ Association. All doctoral students are automatically welcomed into the Postgraduate Society when they join the University.

In addition to the research training that doctoral students complete in their home School, doctoral students at St Andrews have access to GRADskills, a free, comprehensive training programme to support their academic, professional, and personal development.

Doctoral Research at the University of Bonn

As a doctoral student at the University of Bonn you will be part of a vibrant and intellectually stimulating academic community. The University of Bonn is one of the leading research-intensive universities in the world. It is one of only 11 German Universities of Excellence and the only German university with six Clusters of Excellence.

In addition to the research training that doctoral students complete in their home Department, doctoral students at the University of Bonn have access to the Bonn Graduate Center, which is the central service department for doctoral candidates. It offers guidance on training and funding opportunities and offers a free and comprehensive training programme to support their academic, professional, and personal development.

When will I know the outcome?

By mid April 2025. Awards are subject to final signatures of contracts between the parties and successful admission to both institutions.

Contact

Please contact us should you have any questions regarding the scholarship: pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to Stefan Pulver at sp96@st-andrews.ac.uk and Michael Pankratz at pankratz@uni-bonn.de.