Marine Mammals as Sentinels for Humans - Exposure to dietary environmental pollutants & population health (OneHealth) 2 positions (GREECE & UK)

About the Project

Persistent bioavailable pollutants (PBTs) such as PFAS, organochlorines, flame retardants and pesticides are recalcitrant - they cannot be broken down in the environment or biologically by detoxification processes and are fat-loving (lipophilic). Therefore they biomagnify up the food chain once dispersed in municipal discharges in to rivers and coastlines or from atmospheric deposition. Marine mammals and humans alike are exposed to biomagnified levels of PBTs. However, due to significant fish intake, seals and dolphins are usually more exposed than humans, with the exception of marine mammal eating communities like the Inuit or fish-eating communities, who as a result have some of the highest body burdens and contaminated breast milk via dietary exposure. Marine mammals and humans are similarly adversely impacted by pollution induced immunosuppression, neurotoxicity, cancer and endocrine disruption and infertility. As long-lived mammalian apex predators with similar physiology, marine mammals such as seals and dolphins, are ideal sentinels for humans and therefore provide an opportunity to research population-level mammalian responses that can be extrapolated to model highest levels of Human exposure and associated Public Health impacts.

The PhD project will investigate industrial pollutant concentrations such as PFAS and organochlorine pesticides in blood and tissue samples of whales, dolphins and seals from UK and Greece. Sample are collected from net entanglement victims that strand dead or dying on the shore. Also blood samples from live animals are available when they are taken in to wildlife hospitals for treatment. We work closely with animal welfare (RSPCA) and marine conservation charities (Archipelago.gr). You will have opportunities to do field work including boat based surveys from strandings along the Greek coastline where you will also be priviledged to witness rare endangered species of whales and dolphins in the wild.

Training will be provided in lab techniques (GC extractions, clean up and GC-MS/ECD, pollutant immunoassays).

APPLICATION - please EMAIL YOUR CV with recent photograph embedded. Include a list of modules for your degrees (with grades) and a description of the research skills you possess (bulleted list). Please summarise in your CV any research projects undertaken (lab, software, field skills). You must include 2 referees that can be contacted by phone or email. Please advise that you will require a reference from them.

These 2 projects are SELF FUNDED part-time or full-time and can be based in Brunel or Greece or a combination. Details regards tuition fees and financial support are given below. Please contact me by email for further information.

You must hold or expect to hold an upper second class degree or if not have a pass at MSc level in related fields, ideally Chemistry-Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Health and Toxicology or had some experience with chemical analysis. Biochemistry and Biological Sciences also welcome, Materials or Chemical Engineering graduates. If unsure please contact me.

You must have good knowledge of the English language at least IELTS 6.5 overall if you are not a native speaker.

Funding Notes

Subsistence support available (food & accommodation provided free at the research field centre) and opportunities for part-time paid teaching roles supervising intern project students for PhD student based in Greece

One position is based in Greece and one at Brunel

PhD tuition fees are 5000 euros /year for 3 years for students of all nationalities registering at the partner University based in Greece

PhD Full-time Tuition fees for students registering at Brunel (UK) are £5000 for UK home students & £24,795 for International students