(SATURN CDT) Genomic and metatranscriptomic approaches to understand and control microbial communities in nuclear facilities

About the Project

Saturn_Nuclear_CDT

UoM_Nuclear

The Sellafield site contains several Spent Nuclear Fuel Ponds (SNFPs) that store some of the UK’s legacy nuclear waste. These engineered facilities were originally assumed to be too radioactive to support microbial colonisation and growth. However, it is now well established that diverse microbial communities not only exist in these environments but can thrive. Microorganisms colonising these facilities have the potential to form microbial blooms, drive biofouling, induce microbial induced corrosion and influence the behaviour of radionuclides. Understanding how these microbial communities’ function is therefore important for the safe management and decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Our previous research has used amplicon metagenomic sequencing to fingerprint the microbial communities in the ponds (1-3), helping to inform strategies to control microbial blooms. However, metabolic activity and ecological behaviour of these microorganisms in radioactive environments remains poorly understood. This PhD project will develop and apply advanced genomic and metatranscriptomic approaches to characterise the microorganisms in SNFPs and reveal how they function in significantly radioactive environments, generating new insights into how microbial processes may influence these engineered systems. The outcomes of this project will help to address key challenges in nuclear decommissioning including improved waste management and the development of more effective strategies to manage and control microbial activity in nuclear facilities.

This project aims to characterise microbial communities and their metabolic functions in engineered radioactive facilities. The specific focus of the project includes:

• mapping microbial communities and their distribution across hydraulically linked SNFPs
• developing and validating methods (e.g. metatranscriptomics) to assess microbial activity in radioactive samples
• apply methods developed to identify active microbial communities present in SNFPs

The project will combine lab-based experimental approaches alongside bioinformatic analysis to determine metabolically active microbial communities. The experimental work will focus on the development of methods that can be applied to radioactive samples to isolate RNA, which will then be analysed. The work will be carried out using specialised experimental facilities within the NNUF RADER (https://www.nnuf.ac.uk/rader) and the Williamson Research Laboratories (https://www.ees.manchester.ac.uk/wrc/). Bioinformatic pipelines will be used to analyse the (meta)transcriptomics data, providing new insights into metabolically active microorganisms in radioactive facilities.

About SATURN

This PhD is based with the SATURN Centre for Doctoral Training. SATURN is made up form a consortium of NW Universities that include Manchester, Bangor, Leeds, Liverpool, Lancaster, Sheffield and Strathclyde. The ethos of the programme is to recruit students from across STEM and give them the necessary skills and training to become a subject matter expert in the nuclear sector in either industry or academia. You will be recruited with a cohort of other researchers all looking at nuclear- focused research but from across the breadth of the sector. Your training will include an introduction to nuclear course, as well as opportunities to do a deep dive in the areas that really interest you. You will also have the opportunity to broaden your experience and skills by visiting internationally relevant facilities, having an industry secondment, undertaking leadership training, and involving yourself in outreach and public engagement activities. If this sounds like the sort of opportunity that you are looking for, we would love to hear from you.

Eligibility

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisor(s) for this project before you apply. For informal enquiries, please contact Lynn Foster at lynn.foster@manchester.ac.uk.

Projects are subject to funding confirmation

How to apply

Please complete the Enquiry Form to express your interest. We strongly recommend you contact the project supervisor after completing the form to speak to them about your suitability for the project.

If your qualifications meet our standard entry requirements, the CDT Admissions Team will send your enquiry form and CV to the named project supervisor.

Our application process can also be found on our website: here If you have any questions, please contact SATURN@manchester.ac.uk

Funding Notes

The EPSRC funded Studentship will cover full tuition fees at the Home student rate and a maintenance grant for 4 years, starting at of £26,000 pa. for 2026-2027.