Version 2 Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras PhD Project Template Use one form per project Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012 In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed PI name & contact details: School: Gerhard Schlosser, Zoology gerhard.schlosser@nuigalway.ie; phone 00353-91-495978 School of Natural Sciences Has project been agreed with head (or nominee) of proposed registration school? yes Research Centre / group affiliation: REMEDI Research group / centre website: http://www.nuigalway.ie/remedi/ PI website / link to CV: http://www.schlosserlab.com Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max): If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here. Development and evolution of vertebrate nervous and sensory systems. In particular: embryonic development of cranial sense organs in amphibians; evolutionary origin and diversification of cranial sense organs; evolution of developmental mechanisms. Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web): Does epistasis drive coevolution? Whether a particular mutation at one genetic locus is beneficial, neutral or detrimental may depend on the presence or absence of particular alleles at another genetic locus, a phenomenon known as epistasis. It has been predicted that genetic loci that interact epistatically should coevolve (show correlations of evolutionary rates) because allele substitutions at one locus may induce selection at the other locus. Aim of the project is to test this prediction by mining data on genotype fitness and sequence evolution from various publicly available databases. Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway: NUI Galway projects should emphasise features that are not typically available in Brazil – specific equipment, multi-disciplinarity, aspects of structured programme, links with industry, placements, links with other research groups etc. Structured PhD program with courses (e.g. bioinformatics) complementing the research project Close interactions with bioinformaticians Access to high speed computer cluster on campus Version 2 Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras As a member of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) the student will also have access to - a wide range of expertise including the areas of stem cell biology, gene therapy, immunology, molecular biology, translational research - a wide network of collaborating researchers in Ireland, Europe, the US and worldwide Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above: Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply: Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area: Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only one (tick box): Engineering and other technological areas Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences) Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences x Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing Aerospace Pharmaceuticals Sustainable Agricultural Production Oil, Gas and Coal Renewable Energy Minerals, Minerals Technology Biotechnology Nanotechnology and New Materials Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters Bioprospecting and Biodiversity Marine Sciences Creative Industry New technologies in constructive engineering Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders arrangements): Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _y ____ Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): Y_____ Suitable for either/Don’t know: Suitable for either_____