TBC

This project requires an ambitious student with a background in chemistry or biochemistry to help us to develop novel approaches to drug manufacturing through biocatalysis. Green and sustainable routes to pharmaceuticals generation are becoming increasingly important. We have identified several oxygenases and oxidase that are under-utilised resources for such transformations relevant to the modification of sugars for associated drugs (antibiotics, anti-cancer, vaccines). We now aim to explore these enzymes in detail, and study their optimisation for potential future biomanufacturing applications. This is a collaborative effort between 3 research groups with complementary expertise and comprising 18 researchers. The student will receive a rounded training in chemical biology research, with a focus on enzymatic transformations, the characterisation and deployment thereof. No prior experience with enzymes or carbohydrates is necessary - full training will be provided, with specific details tailored to meet the needs and interests of the student.

Historical evidence highlights the significant impact of impurities, such as H2, CO, and H2O, on the degradation of structural materials exposed to high-temperature helium environments. Stainless steels and Alloy 800H are expected to serve as structural materials in High-Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGR). This degradation, influenced by impurities, subsequently affects the mechanical properties of HTGR structural components. Additionally, surface treatment plays a crucial role in material degradation for these structural materials. However, limited research on impure helium environments has resulted in a scarcity of materials data. This PhD research delves into the effects of impurities and surface finishes under impure helium conditions, exploring their impact on HTGR structural material degradation behavior and mechanical properties

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has demonstrated an immense potential in learning optimal sequential-decision strategies across a wide range of game environments. However, most RL algorithms are designed and trained within well-known, simplified, or constrained settings, which may not accurately represent the complexity and uncertainty of real-world applications. Consequently, the performance of RL agents deployed to dynamic environments can degrade over time. The objective of this research project is to address such critical limitations by understanding the performance degradation of RL agents and developing mitigating strategies. The significance of this research lies in its potential to contribute to the development of more robust RL agents capable of adapting to dynamic and uncertain environments. This is a crucial factor in various applications, such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and decision support systems. The project aligns with the research priorities of Alliance MBS and BAE Systems, as both organizations are committed to cutting-edge research in advanced simulation, optimization, and machine learning. By extending RL techniques to support decision-making in dynamic environments, this research will provide a novel valuable contribution to the literature and BAE Systems' ongoing research projects.

Ecosystems worldwide are experiencing rapid shifts in vegetation in response to climate change. One of the most pervasive, but poorly studied, vegetation shifts is occurring in alpine regions of the world, where climate change is taking place at almost double the rate of the northern hemisphere average. In combination with changes in land use, this is leading to the rapid and widespread upward expansion of woody ericaceous shrubs into alpine grasslands, with potential far-reaching, but poorly understood, consequences for the functioning of these fragile high-altitude ecosystems. A pressing uncertainty concerns the potential for ericaceous shrubs to transform processes of soil (C) cycling in alpine grasslands, with implications for soil C storage and persistence. The need to address this uncertainty couldn't be more urgent given that alpine grassland soils represent a major global C store, and because even small changes in their soil C storage capacity could have major implications for C-cycle feedbacks to climate change. Tackling this challenge requires a step change in our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning shrub-driven transformations of soil organic matter (SOM) and its persistence, a critical ecosystem property determining the response of soil C to global change. We posit that the widespread and rapid upward expansion of ericaceous shrubs and their root-associated ericoid mycorrhizal fungi into alpine grassland triggers distinct rhizosphere pathways that lead to the suppression of SOM decomposition and formation of persistent SOM, thereby stabilising the soil C pool and reducing soil C loss under future climate change. We also expect these pathways of soil C gain and stabilisation to outweigh opposing rhizosphere pathways that cause soil C loss, thereby leading to net C gain. We plan to test our novel hypotheses using a powerful combination of landscape, plot, and laboratory studies with advanced stable-isotope, genomics, and biochemical approaches to interrogate the relative roles of contrasting rhizosphere-driven pathways of SOM decomposition and stabilisation of C in alpine grassland. Moreover, we build on our past NERC funded research in alpine grasslands, including a long-term experimental platform in the Austrian Alps, and we draw on novel concepts and discoveries concerning the pathways by which rhizosphere-driven processes regulate the persistence of soil C. Our study will break new ground by identifying novel mechanisms by which rapid and widespread ericaceous shrub expansion alters the balance of rhizosphere pathways that regulate soil C gain and loss in alpine grasslands, ultimately determining soil C storage and C-cycle feedbacks. But also, it will push the frontiers of understanding the role of rhizosphere-driven processes as regulators of soil C storage and persistence, which is a fast moving, but poorly understood area of science of central importance to the global C balance and mitigation of climate change.