Studentships
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham has a dynamic, vibrant and highly stimulating teaching and research environment with an international blend of students and researchers who are committed to innovative learning and scientific discovery.
The following PhD studentships are available:
Please quote relevant reference number.
Vetoquinol Junior Clinical Training Scholarship (Intern) in Small Animal Pain Management
Project title:
Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (pain management in small animal practice)
Principal supervisor:
Mike Davies (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science)
Kate White (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science)
Prof Malcolm Cobb (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science)
Background:
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham is the first new veterinary school in the UK for over 50 years. It is our intent to make significant leading contributions to both veterinary research and teaching within the context of valid relevance and application to the wider veterinary profession.
The Scarsdale Veterinary Group’s new Pride Veterinary Centre, based in Derby will be the base for an opportunity to experience both first opinion and referral small animal cases. The hospital employs a team of veterinary staff augmented by University appointed veterinary surgeons specialising in medicine, surgery and anaesthesia.
Project description:
The internship will be spent rotating through both the specialist disciplines in the hospital and spending time helping to deliver the clinical service within the first opinion practice. During the internship the Junior Clinical training scholar will carry out a project on pain assessment in in patients and out patients which will use pain scoring and activity monitors to assess the efficacy of a variety of routinely-used methods of providing analgesia.
The Scholar will be registered for a Post-Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nottingham and will, alongside their clinical teaching duties, undertake a research project focussing on pain management and production of a clinical case report.
The program will be of interest to recently qualified veterinary graduates with an interest in small animals and/or pain management. The internship is offered for a fixed twelve month tenure subject to satisfactory progress.
Further information and Application:
Applicants must hold a relevant degree in veterinary medicine and full membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be addressed to Prof Malcolm Cobb (malcolm.cobb@nottingham.ac.uk) who will be able to provide more in depth information about the position.
Candidates should apply online including a CV and a covering letter in their application at https://my.nottingham.ac.uk/pgapps/welcome. Any queries regarding the application process should be addressed to Helena Percival, Postgraduate Admissions Officer (email: postgrad-vet@Nottingham.ac.uk)
Start Date:
1st July 2012
Closing date:
15th May 2012
Eligibility for Funding:
The studentship comes with a stipend of £16000 per annum and fees will be paid. There are funding restrictions for non-EU students.
DVM Programme in Canine Shelter Medicine in association with Dogs Trust
Principal supervisors:
Dr Rachel Dean, Dr Lucy Asher & Kate White (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham)
Background:
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham is the first brand new, purpose-built veterinary school in the UK for over 50 years and it is our intent to make significant leading contributions to both veterinary research and teaching within the context of valid relevance and application to the wider veterinary profession.
Research is central to the activities of the School, both in terms of maintaining ourselves at the forefront of national and international efforts in veterinary medicine but also as an integral part of the training and education for undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science joint submission with the School of Biosciences was ranked first in the country for the power of its research with 95% of its activities classified at an international standard.
Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity with a nationwide network of 17 Rehoming Centres in the UK and one in Dublin. We care for over 16,000 stray, unwanted and abandoned dogs each year. Dogs Trust has a non-destruction policy, and will never put a healthy dog to sleep. The charity is working towards the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.
Project Description:
We are seeking 2 enthusiastic veterinary surgeons dedicated to the future of shelter medicine to undertake a four year training programme within our expanding team at Nottingham Veterinary School. The successful applicants will join a team of specialist and first opinion small animal clinicians at SVMS and research staff in the Centre for Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine (CEVM). The core remits of the group are to develop and advance clinical excellence, undertake world class research and transfer knowledge to the industry to promote outstanding health and welfare in dogs.
The successful applicant will be based at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and will undertake clinical work at the Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre Loughborough and research at the CEVM. The Rehoming Centre is currently under construction and is due for completion in summer 2012. It will comprise 100 dogs in kennels, plus approximately 50 in free run “chill out “compounds on site. The training programme will comprise a combination of small animal shelter and population medicine, specialist training in clinical research and will lead to a Doctorate degree (DVM) in Veterinary Medicine.
Further information and application:
Applicants must be Members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, or hold a veterinary degree qualifying them for membership and hold a valid driving licence. A minimum of 2 years in veterinary practice and competence in routine preventive medicine and surgery is essential. Previous experience of working in the Shelter environment would be preferable.
The studentship is available for a period of 4 years and provides a tax free UK/EU postgraduate stipend of £21,000pa.
Closing date:
The position will be filled when suitable candidates have been identified. Early application is strongly encouraged.
Potential applicants are invited to contact Dr Rachel Dean (0115 951 6575; rachel.dean@nottingham.ac.uk) or Kate White (0115 951 6096; kate.white@nottingham.ac.uk) for further information.
Candidates should apply online and include a cv http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/apply-for-postgraduate-courses.aspx . Any queries regarding the application process should be addressed to Helena Percival, Postgraduate Admissions Officer, (email: postgrad-vet@Nottingham.ac.uk)
PhD Studentship in Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modelling
Project title:
Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic modelling of animal data to predict optimal drug dosing regimens in humans
Principal supervisor:
Dr Stuart Paine (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science) email:
stuart.paine@nottingham.ac.uk
Other supervisors:
Dr Cyril Rauch (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science)
Peter Littlewood (Vertex Pharmaceuticals Ltd)
Background:
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham is the first brand new, purpose-built veterinary school in the UK for over 50 years and it is our intent to make significant leading contributions to both veterinary research and teaching within the context of valid relevance and application to the wider veterinary profession.
Research is central to the activities of the School, both in terms of maintaining ourselves at the forefront of national and international efforts in veterinary medicine but also as an integral part of the training and education for undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science joint submission with the School of Biosciences was ranked first in the country for the power of its research with 95% of its activities classified at an international standard.
Project description:
A simple definition of pharmacokinetics (PK) is "how the body processes a drug", resulting in a drug concentration in the body. Pharmacodynamics (PD) can similarly be defined as "how the drug acts on the body", resulting in a measurable drug effect. Combining these two ideas leads to the concept of dose-concentration-effect, which can be modelled using PK/PD modelling. The result of such modelling is a mathematical description of a drug's fate in the body, for an individual. The application and understanding of PK/PD models in animals allows a better understanding of the optimal dosing regimens for the use of the specific drug in that species. Moreover, established PK/PD models in small species allow the extrapolation of PK/PD modelling to larger species including man using allometric methods. Thus, a PK/PD model in mouse can be used to predict the outcome of both the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics within a human clinical trial. Understanding species differences in PK/PD can be investigated by firstly understanding species differences from drug metabolising in vitro systems such hepatocytes, microsomes and recombinant metabolising enzymes. The enzyme kinetics from each species can be scaled up to blood PK using physiological based PK (PBPK) modelling. This also allows the prediction of harmful/beneficial drug-drug interactions from enzyme inhibition studies using mathematical modelling.
The objectives of this project are to use PK/PD understanding to relate drugs levels in animal models to an efficacious endpoint using mathematical models. This may lead to a mechanistic understanding of the mode of action of the drug. The mathematical modelling will be used to analyse enzyme kinetics and inhibition, PK, physiological based PK, population PK and PK/PD
The project proposal involves a multidisciplinary approach ranging from mathematical modelling to physiology. A successful outcome would allow greater benefit to the welfare of animals and humans through new dosing regimens and advise the pharmaceutical industry on the potential for drug-drug interactions and first time in man studies of new chemical entities (NCEs).
The PhD studentship would involve the prospective student spending 6 months at Vertex Pharmacueticals Ltd at their Oxford site.
Further information and Application:
Applicants should have a minimum of a 2.1 undergraduate degree or a minimum of a 2.2 degree and a masters degree in either physical science, mathematics or engineering subjects. Candidates will be happily considered from other subject areas but will require either strong mathematical skills or experience with kinetic modelling.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to the principal supervisor: Dr Stuart Paine(stuart.paine@nottingham.ac.uk).
Candidates should apply online via https://pgapps.nottingham.ac.uk and include a cv, names of 2 references and details of degree and module results. Any queries regarding the application process should be addressed to Helena Percival, Postgraduate Admissions Officer, (email: postgrad-vet@nottingham.ac.uk)
Start Date:
August 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Closing date:
The position will be filled when suitable candidates have been identified. Early application is strongly encouraged.
Eligibility for Funding:
The studentship is available for a period of 3 years from August 2012 and provides the standard UK/EU postgraduate stipend, though there are potential funding restrictions for non- EU students (change this as necessary).
PhD Studentship in Equine Colic
Project Title:
An evaluation of the primary presentation and diagnosis of acute abdominal pain (colic) in the horse to establish evidence-based guidelines.
Principal supervisor:
Dr Sarah Freeman, Associate Professor of Veterinary Surgery (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science) email: sarah.freeman@nottingham.ac.uk
Other supervisors:
Dr John Burford, Clinical Lecturer in Equine Surgery (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science) email: john.burford@nottingham.ac.uk and Prof Gary England, Foundation Dean (School of Veterinary Medicine and Science) email: gary.england @nottingham.ac.uk
Background:
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham is the first brand new, purpose-built veterinary school in the UK for over 50 years and it is our intent to make significant leading contributions to both veterinary research and teaching within the context of valid relevance and application to the wider veterinary profession. Research is central to the activities of the School; in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science joint submission with the School of Biosciences was ranked first in the country for the power of its research with 95% of its activities classified at an international standard.
Project description:
Colic is one of the most common and important emergency conditions in the horse. Despite this, there is very little information on how cases of colic first present to the veterinary surgeon, and none on the different approaches used by vets in their initial assessment of cases. This means there is no evidence on which vets can base their decisions for this critical first assessment. This project will investigate vets opinions on the primary assessment of colic and any factors that affect their decision making, and use a prospective survey to determine how different cases of colic present to veterinary practitioners, and how case presentation relates to diagnosis and outcome. The evidence generated by this research will be used to inform a Delphi group, who will formulate evidence-based guidelines for the primary assessment of equine colic.
The aim of the project is to develop evidence-based guidelines for the primary assessment of colic in the horse. The student will undertake an on-line survey of veterinary surgeons opinions, work with a number of veterinary practitioners to gather evidence on case presentation and outcome, and inform and facilitate a Delphi group to generate evidence-based guidelines. The student will receive training in research techniques both within the University of Nottingham’s Graduate School, and within the School of Veterinary Medicine and Centre of Evidence Based Veterinary Medicine.
Further information and Application:
Applicants should have a minimum of a 2.1 undergraduate degree or a minimum of a 2.2 degree and a masters degree in veterinary or equine subjects. They should have an active interest in equine health and welfare, and evidence-based medicine. A background knowledge of equine colic would be beneficial. The project will involve working with different veterinary practices, and with a Delphi group of vets and horse owners. Good communication skills and team working are therefore essential.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to the principal supervisor: Sarah Freeman (sarah.freeman@ nottingham.ac.uk).
Candidates should apply online at https://my.nottingham.ac.uk/pgapps/welcome (include a cv). Any queries regarding the application process should be addressed to Helena Percival, Postgraduate Admissions Officer, (email: postgrad-vet@nottingham.ac.uk)
Start Date:
1st October 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Closing date:
The position will be filled when suitable candidates have been identified. Early application is strongly encouraged.
Eligibility for Funding:
The studentship is available for a period of 3 years from October 2012 and provides a stipend of £13,590 pa for non-veterinary graduates, and a stipend of £16,000 pa for veterinary graduates. In addition this studentship comes with an additional tax-free scholarship of £2,000 as a Demonstratorship (you would be expected to provide up to 200 hours per year of teaching, invigilating and other teaching related assistance).