World-Leading Doctoral Scholarship in Medicine and Physics and Astronomy

Project

This interdisciplinary project between the Schools of Medicine and Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews explores new light sources for killing bacteria and other microbes.   We are looking for candidates either from a biological sciences/microbiology/medicine background or from a materials science/physics/engineering background.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a powerful tool that currently has applications in cancer treatment at the skin surface. Antimicrobial PDT (aPDT) is in its infancy but has great potential that must be explored, especially in the era of ever-rising levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

aPDT is similar to conventional PDT in that three elements are required: light, a light-activated chemical (photosensitiser) and oxygen.  The light source excites the photosensitiser, which in the presence of oxygen generates reactive oxygen species that kill undesired cells.

Although PDT is used across the world, it has so far been limited by the need for large and specialized light sources, such as lasers.   We have shown that organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) – now widely found in mobile phone displays and televisions – can be used as light sources for PDT.  They are thin and potentially flexible, enabling convenient wearable light sources for medicine to be made.   In this project you will make OLEDs and explore their use for antimicrobial PDT, with particular emphasis on diabetic foot ulcers.  The project offers a unique opportunity to influence how antimicrobial treatment progresses into the future.

According to the world health organization (WHO) survey in 2014, a total of 422 million people around the globe have been diagnosed with diabetes, and among the diabetic population the chances of developing foot ulcer are significantly high. A recent global epidemiology study shows that the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in Belgium alone is 16.6% with an average of 6.3% in the world. Approximately 1 in 17 people in the UK has diabetes and around a quarter of them may develop foot ulcers at some stage. These ulcers are hard to heal even with specialist care, and in the UK only about half heal within 6 months, causing a huge burden on people with the disease, and many ulcers reoccur within a year of healing. Unfortunately, a substantial fraction (10-15%) of ulcers do not heal at all, leading to amputation of the toe, foot or affected limb and a drastic shortening of life.

The aims of the project are:

• To demonstrate that OLED PDT can kill the bacteria found in diabetic foot ulcers
• Optimise treatment conditions for PDT of the bacteria in diabetic foot ulcers
• Demonstrate that OLEDs are suitable for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers
• Produce preliminary data that provides the basis for  a full clinical trial.

As mentioned above we expect an applicant to come from a biological sciences/microbiology/medicine background or from a materials science/physics/engineering background.  A successful applicant should be interested in learning about the other field, and would be required to learn the necessary skills in the field of study they are less familiar e.g. a microbiologist would learn to make OLEDs, and a physicist would learn to perform microbiology experiments. 

Value of award (per year)

Full tuition fees (Home or International rate)

Annual maintenance paid monthly at UKRI rates (£18,622 2023/24) 

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years. 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.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply for the scholarship after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews.  You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship.

Additional criteria

You must have applied for a PhD programme at St Andrews.

You must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews or another institution.

As part of the scholarship application you will be required to upload a personal statement. This should serve as a cover letter for the research project application as a whole, and should include:

• An outline of your suitability for the project (project criteria can be found in the "Eligibility" and "Project Description" sections above).
• Why the project interests you.
• What you would bring to the project in terms of previous skills and expertise.
• Any ideas that you may have for the realisation of the project.

How to apply

1. Apply for admission as a doctoral student beginning in the academic year 2024-25. Please see the advice on applying for research programmes. After submitting your PhD application, you must allow at least two working days for processing and issue of your log-in details before you can apply for the scholarship. Once you have received an email confirming your access to the My application portal: 
2. Apply for the scholarship, which is available through the World-Leading Scholarship 5: Photodynamic therapy of Diabetic foot ulcers application form. You can access this application through the Scholarships and funding catalogue in the Scholarships and Funding section of My application. 
• Enter the catalogue by following the instructions in the email, then choosing Scholarships and funding (under 'Useful links') and then clicking View the scholarships and funding catalogue.
• Select 2024/5 as the Academic Year and click ‘Refresh list’.
• Find the World-Leading St Andrews Doctoral Scholarship that you wish to apply for in the list of scholarships (using the filter box if necessary), click Apply and complete the application form.
• You can also use the catalogue to search and apply for other scholarships for which you are eligible. 

Scholarship application form guidance

If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so, to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to that course.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab) 

If you apply to this scholarship, details from your course application may be passed to the selection panel solely for the purpose of merit-based assessment. 

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on View or continue my funding applications in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application within two months of the application deadline.