Mathematical modelling of Immune T cells

PhD position in Mathematical Biology, within the joint graduate program of Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

Please, contact Prof. Cecilia Vernia and Federico Frascoli if interested in this position (emails below). Note that this joint program offers a double PhD. The successful candidate will be awarded, at the end of his candidature, two PhD titles: one from UNIMORE and one from Swinburne.

The title of the project is Mathematical modelling of immune T cells

For a single cell to give rise to a multicellular organism, it and its progeny must divide, differentiate and/or die in response to intrinsic and extrinsic cues. Single T cells yield diverse progenies that meet both the immediate needs of host defence, and the longer term needs of immune memory. This project is focussed on understanding how the fate T cell progeny is determined and how it impacts the effectiveness of our immune system. New findings would be invaluable for medical interventions, with the potential to directly improve techniques such as vaccination, cancer immunotherapy, checkpoint blockade strategies, CAR-T and therapies for autoimmune diseases.

The candidate, together with the supervisors, will develop original mathematical models to understand if, how, when and why the fate of a cell is determined. A combination of analytical, computational and statistical methods will be used, including agent based models, integro-differential equations, networks and ODEs. There is also the possibility, for the interested candidate, to conduct original experimental work at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne (one of the best in the world), where our group has access to several immunology labs and top-of-the-line facilities.

The candidate is required to meet Swinburne’s English language requirement for international applicants.

The candidate will be initially based in Melbourne, with the possibility of spending up to 18 months (consecutively or for different, separate periods) in Modena. An intial visit to Melbourne is preferred for administrative matters and can be as little as 6 weeks. The monthly stipend will be approximately AU$2700 (~ 1700 EUR). The maximum length of the scholarship is four years, with a full stipend available for 3.5 years.

Thesis allowance, relocation costs and a $3,500 (2300 EUR) research grant for research-related expenses (travel, conferences, collaborations etc) will also be provided. Extra funding from UNIMORE might be available to the successful candidate. More details can be found at the SUPRA (Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award) webpage.

The two principal supervisors for the project will be Prof. C. Vernia (UNIMORE) and Prof. F. Frascoli (Swinburne). Please contact either of the two for more information at cecilia.vernia@unimore.it   and ffrascoli@swin.edu.au

Procedure

To express their interest, candidates are required to submit the following documents:

-a short (max 2 pages) curriculum vitae, in English;
-a copy of the certificate of the English test that satisfies Swinburne’s English language requirement. If that is not available, an indication of when the candidate will sit the chosen language exam.
-a brief statement (2-3 lines) explaining why the candidate wants to apply for this PhD project, in English or Italian.
Please submit the above material via email with subject “UniMORE-Swinburne PhD” to cecilia.vernia@unimore.it   and ffrascoli@swin.edu.au.

The deadline for applications is on the 28th July  at 5 pm Italian time.