European Union’s Marie Curie Fellowships
Call for fellowships for post-doctoral researchers: Postdoctoral researchers who have recently been working overseas may be eligible to apply for a fellowship at University College London, funded by the European Union’s Marie Curie Fellowships scheme. Eligible researchers can be of any nationality, age or research field as long as they have not spent more than 12 months in the UK over the past three years by August 2013.
The fellowships cover the cost of a researcher’s living, relocation, research expenses and overheads for a period of 12 to 24 months (full‐time). Applications are assessed on the basis of the proposed project’s scientific, academic or technical quality and implementation as well as the applicant’s training plans, research experience and achievements.
As a comprehensive, global university, UCL is ideally placed to benefit from this scheme, as fellows can join or add value to established research teams, creating new links between UCL and institutions in other countries. UCL has been awarded nearly 100 Marie Curie Fellowships since 2007.
Researchers who are currently based in a European Union or associated country may apply for a Marie Curie Intra‐European fellowship (IEF), while researchers outside Europe may be eligible for an international incoming fellowship (IIF). Success rates for the Marie Curie IEF and IIF calls were 18% and 12% in 2010 respectively.
The Marie Curie fellowships scheme forms part of the EU’s Framework Programme 7 (FP7) and is designed to encourage the mobility of researchers across national boundaries, support research careers and attract researchers to Europe.
A new call for Marie Curie fellowships is now open
and closing in August 14, 2013.
Please contact Dr Nguyen TK Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk) if you would like to apply to be working in her lab. Due to large number of applicants only short listed candidates will be contacted.
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PhD Studentships on NANOTECHNOLOGY
PROJECT 1: PhD Studentship in Nanomaterials / Microprocess Engineering
CONTINUOUS MICROFLUIDIC CRYSTALLISATION FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF NANOPARTICLES FOR BIO-MEDICINE
Stipend £15590 pa for 4 years
University College London
Vacancy Information
An EPSRC DTG studentship in the Industrial Doctorate Centre for Molecular Modelling & Materials Science (M3S IDC) is available from September 2012. The student will be based in the M3S IDC, where s/he will participate in all Centre activities. The research project will be carried out mainly in the UCL Department of Chemical Engineering, but a significant part of the research will be performed in the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory of The Royal Institution of Great Britain. The Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory has a long and distinguished 200 year history, including the award of 14 Nobel Prizes, the discovery of 10 elements, and the invention of the electric generator.
Project Background Information
Nanoparticles have a great potential for biomedical applications like diagnostics of diseases, biosensing, in-vivo imaging, therapeutics, and drug deliveries. Current methods for their synthesis rely in batch processes such as wet chemical methods. Major challenges still persist, however, with regard to process controllability and reproducibility. This project proposes to apply the principles of flow microreactor technology for addressing key issues in nanoparticle synthesis. Continuous flow microreactors offer a technology with the potential to form particles with unprecedented homogeneity and control the critical process parameters in a way that is difficult to achieve in batch reactors.
Description of Research
The scope of the research project is the design, fabrication, commissioning and characterization of devices for the crystallization of magnetic nanoparticles. Another, longer term objective is to pave the way for understanding the mechanism of nucleation and growth, in order to control shape, size and composition of nanoparticles. The researcher will be expected to design and commission microchannel devices to achieve crystallisation under continuous flow conditions. Characterisation will be performed by particle size analysis equipment, TEM, SQUID, XRD, DLS, FTIR. Mathematical modelling of crystallisation will be employed to address aspects such as hydrodynamics, nucleation/growth kinetics.
Person Specification
The candidate should have, or expect to obtain, a first-class MEng, MSc or equivalent degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry. If you are interested, please send the following to Prof. Asterios Gavriilidis (Email: a.gavriilidis@ucl.ac.uk) http://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemeng/people/gavriilidis
to whom informal enquiries can also be addressed, or Dr Nguyen TK Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk). http:/www.ntk-thanh.co.uk
1. CV, including the names and contact information of two referees.
2. A record of university courses, with results obtained.
3. Personal Statement about your academic career to date, and outline your present situation,
and state
4. Roles and Benefits -what role do you envisage you would take in the proposed research and how do you think you would benefit from the studentship?
5. Career plans -what would be your career plans afterwards?
Eligibility
The studentship covers tuition fees at the UK/EU rate plus a stipend of £15,590 per annum for eligible residents.
Funding is available only to UK citizens or EU citizens who have been in the UK at least 3 years immediately prior to taking up the studentship. The application deadline is 31/8/2012, however the candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as the position will be filled when the right candidate is found.
PROJECT 2: Tracking stem cells in tissue-engineered organs using novel magnetic nanoparticles
Stipend £18000 pa for at least 3 years
University College London and The Royal Institution of Great Britain
Millions of patients worldwide have organ failure or agenesis for which present treatments are either inadequate or absent. However, despite our first-in-human success, one of the leading questions is how to track cells seeded onto scaffolds once implanted in patients. Whilst techniques exist to track cells in animals, many alter cell physiology in unpredictable but critical ways and are unlikely to be licensed for use in man. An exception is super-paramagnetic nanoparticles (MNP), however, efficacy has been limited by the low quality iron oxide nanoparticles, the only MNP licensed for the clinic. Thanh group has pioneered the next generation of MNP with high magnetic moment of different size, shape, with very high mono-dispersity providing biological readouts that reflect real cellular changes with fewer artifacts. However, achieving biocoating and biofunctionalisation of new generation MNP to make it much easier to target to specific molecules/cells for tracking and functional studies of implanted cells within tissue-engineered organ transplants in preclinical and clinical trials remain true ‘Grand Challenges’.
The work will involve the synthesis and characterization of a variety of bio-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles using various ligands .
The appointee will use a wide variety of techniques to characterise the synthesised nanomaterials. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will be routinely used to chacterise size, shape and monodispersity of nanonmterials, thereby enabling the determination of the successful synthesis. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) will also be used at later stage to characterise further the structure of materials, and Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUID magnetometer) will be used to characterise the magnetic properties of the materials. While the main focus of the project is therefore chemical synthesis and biofunctionalisation of nanoparticles. The successful applicant will also experience some other techniques such as dynamic light scattering technique, elemental analysis, MRI, hyperthermia measurement.
The study will be conducted in a modern, highly funded laboratory under the supervision of Dr Nguyen TK Thanh, Research Fellow of the Royal Society (UK National Academy of Science), UCL-RI Reader in Nanotechnology, University College London and The Davy-Faraday Research Laborary, The Royal Institution of Great Britain. The Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory has a long and distinguished 200 year history, including the award of 14 Nobel Prizes, the discovery of 10 elements, and the invention of the electric generator, to name just a few of many seminal achievements.
Requirement:
Candidates must have 1st Class Masters degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or BioChemistry.
Applications will be accepted until 30 July 2012. However, the post will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found.
Informal enquiries should be made to Dr NTK Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk)
Funding is available to UK and EU citizens
Non-UK Students - In most cases if you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances your application to work in this lab will be considered. If English is not your first language, please give details of your English Language qualifications, including grade, awarding body and date awarded or expected. IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 570 (230 computer-based) is the minimum requirement.
PROJECT 3: Novel Synthesis of Nanomaterials for biomedical applications
Stipend £15590 pa for 4 years
University College London and Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY to carry out the most cutting edge research in nanoscale science and nanotechnology at a world leading research intensive university right in the heart of central London and one of the most beautiful and historic area of Japan, Kanazawa.
The appointee will use a wide variety of novel techniques to synthesise nanomaterials. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will be routinely used to characterise size, shape and monodispersity of nanomaterials, thereby enabling the determination of the successful synthesis. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) will also be used at later stage to characterise further the structure of materials, and Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUID magnetometer) will be used to characterise the magnetic properties of the materials. While the main focus of the project is therefore chemical synthesis and biofunctionalisation of nanoparticles. The successful applicant will also experience some other techniques such as hyperthermia measurement, XPS, HRTEM.
The study will be conducted in a modern, highly funded laboratory under the supervision of Dr Nguyen TK Thanh, Research Fellow of the Royal Society (UK National Academy of Science), UCL-RI Reader in Nanotechnology, University College London and The Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory, The Royal Institution of Great Britain. The Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory has a long and distinguished over 210 year history, including the award of 14 Nobel Prizes, the discovery of 10 elements, and the invention of the electric generator.
The student will spend a year at JAIST under supervision of Dr Shinya Maenosono please see the links for more details http://www.youtube.com/JAISTClips
http://www.facebook.com/MaterialsScienceJAIST
Requirement:
Candidates must have 1st Class Masters degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering or BioChemistry.
Applications will be accepted until 30 July 2012. However, the post will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Nguyen TK Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk) by sending the following documents :
1. CV
2. Personal Statement about your academic career to date, including a record of university courses and degrees, with results obtained and expected, and outline your present situation. Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
And state
3. Roles and Benefits if awarded a studentship (what role do you envisage you would take in the proposed research and how do they think they would benefit from the scheme? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
4. Career plans If awarded a studentship what would be your career plans afterwards? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
Funding is available to UK and EU citizens
Non-UK Students - In most cases if you have the correct qualifications and access to your own funding, either from your home country or your own finances your application to work in this lab will be considered. If English is not your first language, please give details of your English Language qualifications, including grade, awarding body and date awarded or expected. IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 570 (230 computer-based) is the minimum requirement.
PROJECT 4: UCL- A*STAR 3.5 year PhD studentship
Functional Nanoparticles-based Biosensors for Diagnosis of Diseases
A wonderful opportunity to spend 2 years during your PhD in one of the top and well funded research institute in the world A*STAR in the heart of Singapore, one of the most amazing places.
Stipend £15590 pa
Supervisors: Dr Nguyen TK Thanh and Dr Su Xiaodi (Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR, Singapore, Email: xd-su@imre.a-star.edu.sg)
In biosensor research, one of the challenges is to develop low cost, fast and simple-to-use sensors and sensor devices for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis and various on-site applications. The advancement of genome research and drug discovery requires advanced high throughput assays (HTA) for fast screening of biomolecular interactions and biological processes. Functionalized nanoparticles (NPs), particularly metal NPs hold great promises for fast, visual detection owing to their unique solution color arising from interparticle distance determine localized surface plasmon resonance. Metal NPs’ ability to modulate fluorescence of QDs and organic dyes through Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) allows for versatile fluorescent bioassay design with high sensitivity and accuracy.
This project will develop functional NP-based analytical methods for POC diagnostics and for fast screening of biomolecular interactions, with metal NPs as key elements and QDs or organic dyes as coupling elements. Spherical gold and silver nanoparticles will be synthesized and used as colorimetric probe and the colorimetric assays will be performed in homogenous solution and be transferred on solid membrane or papers to form assay kits to facilitate POC application and on-site applications. For sensing application in complex biological samples (whole blood and crude cell culture medium etc), near infrared-absorbing metal NPs will be synthesized through size, shape, and morphology control. To facilitate genome and drug discovery research, metal NPs- and/or metal NPs/QDs (organic dye) quenching-based homogenous phase HTAs will be developed for fast screening of transcriptional factor-DNA and protein-ligand interactions. Through this project the advantages of NPs-based homogenous phase assays, relative to the time consuming conventional heterogonous phase assays (i.e. ELISA) and gel mobility shift assays for fast screening will be demonstrated.
Work-plan:
1st year: The student will be trained in Dr Thanh’s lab on nanoparticle synthesis and characterization. Particularly he/she will be synthesizing mNPs and/or NIR-absorbing mNPs (i.e. nanoshell, branched nanoparticle, Ag/Ag alloy etc), fluorescent MNPs, and QDs. He/she will also learn basic skills of bio-conjugation of the nanoparticles with DNA, antibody, and peptide etc.
2nd and 3rd years: In Dr Su Xiaodi’s lab at IMRE, the student will be trained to prepare DNA-, protein- and antibody-conjugated NPs. He/she will learn to design versatile bioassays using functionalized NPs as key sensing elements. He/she will gain knowledge on the drawbacks of conventional biological assays and the desired features of advanced bioanalytical methods through close interactions with biologist in collaborators labs in Singapore.
Last 6 months: The student will be writing up the thesis.
Requirement:
Candidates must have 1st Class Masters degree in Chemistry, or BioChemistry.
Applications will be accepted until 30 July 2012. However, the post will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Nguyen TK Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk) by sending the following documents :
1. CV
2. Personal Statement about your academic career to date, including a record of university courses and degrees, with results obtained and expected, and outline your present situation. Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
And state
3. Roles and Benefits if awarded a studentship (what role do you envisage you would take in the proposed research and how do they think they would benefit from the scheme? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
4. Career plans If awarded a studentship what would be your career plans afterwards? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
Funding is available to UK and EU citizens
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Newton International Fellowships Scheme
The Newton International Fellowship scheme , run by The British Academy, The Royal Academy of Engineering and The Royal Society, aims to attract the world's best postdoctoral researchers to the UK.
The two-year Fellowships cover the broad range of the natural and social sciences, engineering and the humanities. The Fellowships include £24,000 per annum to cover subsistence and £8,000 to cover research expenses, plus a one-off relocation allowance of £2,000.
Funding, worth £6,000 per year for ten years after the Fellowship ends, will support follow-on activities to enable Newton Fellows to build long-term links with the UK.
In addition, Newton Fellows will also become members of the international alumni scheme run by Research Councils UK.
The deadline for applications is April 2012.
More information on Newton Fellowships
Newton International Fellowships
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AG
tel: +44 (0)20 7451 2559
fax: +44 (0)20 7930 2170
info@newtonfellowships.org
Dr Thanh will be happy to host a good application, please send your CV for her consideration.
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I am happy to host exellent applications for these fellowships, please send your application to me for reviewing in advance (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk)
If you are a citizen of a developed Commonwealth country, you can apply for:
•Scholarships for PhD and split-site (PhD) study at UK universities
If you are a citizen of a developing Commonwealth country, you can apply for
•Scholarships for Master’s, PhD, or split-site (PhD) study at UK universities
•Shared Scholarships for Master’s study at selected UK universities
•Distance Learning Scholarships to study UK Master’s degree courses in your home country
•Academic Fellowships for mid-career academics to spend time at UK universities
•Professional Fellowships for mid-career professionals to spend time at a UK host organisation
To qualify for PhD study at UCL, you will need the following:
1) Meeting English proficiency requirement: IETLS > 6.5, with each
sub-category no less than 6.0;
2) Completed a BSc/MSc programme with an average GPA > 3.5 / 4, i.e. 88%
I am happy to receive applications for a very prestigeous UCL Dean's Scholarship
The Dean’s Prize provides scholarships of up to the value of UCL student fees for postgraduate research students. While primarily geared towards excellent Overseas students, the Dean’s Prize may also be used to support Home/EU students
UCL Graduate Research Scholarships, or Overseas Research Scholarships
Graduate Research Scholarships for Cross Disciplinary Training (One-Year)
Important information for all Applicants. Please contact Dr Nguyen T. K. Thanh (Email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk), if you are qualified for these scholarships and wish to work in her laboratory.
Up to four scholarships annually are available to full-time UCL MPhil/PhD and EngD students from any country wishing to spend an additional year of their MPhil/PhD or EngD in another UCL department acquiring research skills and knowledge from a different discipline, which can be applied in their normal area of research. Training should be of one year's duration to permit sustained exposure to the new discipline.
The scholarships can be taken at any point during the MPhil/PhD or EngD programme.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be:
in receipt of the offer of admission to or currently registered at UCL for full-time MPhil/PhD or EngD research, and;
in receipt of three years funding for their normal MPhil/PhD or EngD programme.
Where the student is in receipt of a scholarship or funding e.g. from a Research Council, written permission for the arrangement must be sought from the relevant body.
Selection Criteria
Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and research potential. Financial circumstances are not taken into account.
Value: Benefits and Duration
The scholarships consist of fees equivalent to the applicable graduate rate (UK/EU or overseas) plus a maintenance stipend of £15,590 (2011/12) or - in the case of recipients who already hold a Research Council grant - one that will match their current maintenance grant. The scholarship also includes additional research costs at a level up to £1,000 per year for the stated duration of the programme.
The Cross-Disciplinary Scholarships are tenable for one calendar year of full-time study in the host department.
Application Procedure and Deadline
Applications must be made by the Head of the student's home department;
Applications should include all the following six documents:
1. A training proposal outline, indicating:
i. the student's full name
ii. the PhD/EngD project and subject area
iii. the host department
iv. the benefit to the student from sustained training in the area outside his/her principal discipline
v. the student's abilities, and likelihood of completing the course in due time
The department must be satisfied that the student is sufficiently qualified to benefit from the training.
2. Detailed description of the training programme;
The training programme should be designed for the particular student, and will normally involve some course work (undergraduate or postgraduate). The training programme should provide the student with more than just a specific research tool (such as knowledge of a particular research technique, or a language); the aim should be broader, namely to immerse the student in the methods, approaches and ways of thinking of another discipline.
3. Student's full Curriculum Vitae (CV);
4. One-page outline of the PhD/EngD research project;
5.
Evidence of three year's PhD/EngD funding;
6. A letter signed by the heads of both the home and host departments certifying:
i. that the host department has agreed to accept the student for the training programme specified and to allow the student full access to all relevant courses, tutorials, equipment and facilities
The student should be supervised within the host department with arrangements for reporting across to the student's primary supervisor in the home department.
ii. that the relevant Research Council (where appropriate) has agreed the proposal
Where the student is in receipt of funding for the MPhil/PhD or EngD, e.g. from a Research Council, written permission for the arrangement from the relevant body must be provided.
iii. that the necessary financial arrangements between the two departments have been agreed
Financial arrangements must be made to ensure that the allocation of resources from College to the host and home departments reflects the proportionate responsibilities of each.
Complete applications must be submitted by February before the start of the relevant academic session. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.
Applications should be sent to:
UCL Student Funding
The Regsitry
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
UK
Notification of Results
A selection panel of UCL academics meets in late March/early April and successful candidates can expect to be notified by the end of April.
Procedure to apply as a Visiting Research student
Summer 2013 Studentship Competition
Value: A weekly stipend is available for the student of up to £220
Students are invited to enter the selection process to compete for Summer Studentship in the area of nanotechnology .
You must submit
1. CV
2. Personal Statement about your academic career to date, including a record of university courses and degrees, with results obtained and expected, and outline your present situation. Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
And state
3. Roles and Benefits i f awarded a studentship (what role do you envisage you would take in the proposed research and how do they think they would benefit from the scheme? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
4. Career plans If awarded a studentship what would be your career plans afterwards? Maximum 1,000 characters (including spaces).
Conditions : The students must have received a successful degree result by the time you take up the studentship, even if the graduation ceremony has not yet taken place. The student can be of any nationality but must be returning to higher education in the UK on completion of the studentship. No other form of paid employment may be held by the student during the tenure of the award.
Length of tenure: The studentship can be held for up to ten weeks at any time during the period 4 June to 30 September .
The application should be sent to Dr Nguyen TK Thanh (email: ntk.thanh@ucl.ac.uk)