Research Scholarship for PhD Students in Chemical Engineering in the UK

Swansea University in the United Kingdom is offering PhD students from all over the world the opportunity to apply for the Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Research scholarship for 2019-2020, to specifically study Deterministic Encapsulation of Particles and Cells in Microfluidic Devices. 

About the Scholarship:

Early diagnosis of disease remains a challenge in modern medicine. In an effort to expedite clinical tests for point of care diagnosis, tools based on microfluidic devices have been developed. One of the most successful microfluidic techniques is the Drop-seq technology, where cells are encapsulated together with functionalized particles in single droplets, to derive the cell genome. In the current setup, however, only less than 10% of the cells are encapsulated successfully with the functionalized particles. As a consequence, this technique cannot be used for the identification of rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells. This problem can be solved by equally spacing particles and cells prior the encapsulation area, thus achieving the so-called deterministic encapsulation. In this project, the successful applicant will employ several polymer solutions to promote particle/cell ordering and encapsulation in a microfluidic device, to derive the genome of suspended cells. At the end of the project, the successful applicant will master the ordering and the encapsulation in viscoelastic liquids, and he/she will demonstrate the first evidence of viscoelastic-Drop-seq technology. This work will also take advantage of the collaboration with an industrial microfluidic partner for the successful implementation of the technique to an industrial scale level.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Applicants should hold a first or upper second class (2.1) honors degree and/or MSc in Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Applied Physics or related subjects
2. Applicants with strong background in Fluid Mechanics and Rheology will be given priorities. Microfluidic skills are desirable
3. The university would normally expect the academic and English Language requirements (IELTS 6.5 or equivalent result) to be met by point of application

Funding:

For international applicants, the scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees only. For UK/EU applicants, the scholarship covers the full cost of UK/EU tuition fees and an annual stipend of £14,296.

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