Director of Studies:
Dr Michael Collins
Second Supervisor:
Dr Manuela Truebano
Third Supervisor: Professor Alex Ford
Fourth Supervisor:
Professor Mark Fitzsimons
Fifth Supervisor:
Dr Oliver Tills
Sixth Supervisor: Dr Luke Holmes, Environment Agency
Second Supervisor:
Third Supervisor: Professor Alex Ford
Fourth Supervisor:
Fifth Supervisor:
Sixth Supervisor: Dr Luke Holmes, Environment Agency
Applications are invited for a 3.5 years PhD studentship. The studentship will start on 01 October 2027.
Project description
Scientific background
Coastal regions face the triple threat of emerging contaminants, heatwaves, and deoxygenation. Current chemical risk assessment substantially underestimates ecological risk because pollutants are evaluated in isolation and at the species-level only, overlooking synergistic stressor interactions and population-level variation in tolerance. As a result, concentrations considered safe under existing frameworks may be harmful when combined with future levels of warming and hypoxia. Without accounting for these interacting pressures and natural population variability, risk assessments may fail to predict population declines, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem disruption.
This interdisciplinary project aims to develop a multi-level, risk assessment framework to evaluate vulnerability of marine invertebrate populations to emerging pollutants under climate change. By combining transcriptomics with computer vision, AI-powered physiological approaches, and linking responses to fitness outcomes, the project will identify mechanisms underpinning population resilience and sensitivity to multiple stressors. This integrative approach will develop a novel, ecologically-realistic framework for predicting chemical risk thresholds under climate change.
Specifically, this project will:
- Conduct laboratory-multistressor experiments to quantify physiological tipping points in aquatic invertebrate populations exposed to climate-contaminant combinations, integrating responses across scales including cells, whole-organisms via cutting-edge physiological/behavioural analyses from Phenomyx (PCIC), and population fitness.
- Access Environment Agency (EA) datasets, alongside performing analytical chemistry techniques, to characterise habitats and quantify contaminant levels (pharmaceuticals), temperature and oxygen.
- Develop a risk assessment tool by integrating tipping points and environmental pharmaceutical levels to predict population vulnerability under climate change.
Training
This pioneering project offers opportunities to work across academia, industry and regulatory bodies, with training in multi-stressor investigation and bioinformatics (Collins); behavioural ecotoxicology (Ford); thermal biology (Truebano); analytical chemistry (Fitzsimons); phenomics (PCIC); and national chemical risk assessment (EA). Your supervisory team will help identify your training needs and use dedicated ARIES-DTP funding to support your development. You will be supported to lead manuscripts, present at international conferences, and engage in impact-focused activities.
Person specification
We seek an enthusiastic individual with a background in marine biology or related fields. Experience with laboratory ecophysiology experiments and/or molecular techniques is desirable. A strong interest in physiology, ecotoxicology and climate change, together with excellent quantitative analysis skills, is essential.
References
Wilson, R., Driver, K., Orr, J., Truebano, M., Collins, M., Jackson, M. (2026) Gene-to-population level responses to multiple stressors on the rocky shore, Ecology and Evolution, 16, e73368
Ford, A.T., Ågerstrand, M., Börjeson, N., Brodin, T., Brooks, B.W., Maack, G., Lazorchak J.W., Saaristo, M., Wong, B.B. (2025) Perceptions about the use of behavioral (eco)toxicology to protect human health and the environment, Int. Environmental Assessment and Management., vjaf123
Bagnis, S., Fitzsimons, M.F., Snape, J., Tappin, A., Comber S. (2018) Processes of distribution of pharmaceuticals in surface freshwaters: implications for risk assessment, Environmental Chemistry Letters, 16, 1193-1216
Collins, M., Truebano, M., Verberk, W. and Spicer, J.I. (2021) Do aquatic ectotherms perform better under hypoxia after warm acclimation?, Journal of Experimental Biology, 224, jeb232512
Tills, O., Holmes, L.A., Quinn, E., Everett, T., Truebano, M. and Spicer, J.I. (2023) Phenomics enables measurement of complex responses of developing animals to global environmental drivers, Science of the Total Environment, 858, 159555.
Eligibility
Acceptable first degree subject(s): Minimum 2:1 Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology or Biology.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent.
ARIES studentships are subject to UKRI terms and conditions. Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend £21,805 p.a. for 2026/27 (2027/28 TBC) and a research training and support grant (RTSG).
A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university.
Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.
NB: The studentship is supported for 3.5 years of the four-year registration period. The subsequent 6 months of registration is a self-funded ‘writing-up’ period.
Working part-time while receiving a stipend at the University of Plymouth is generally permitted, provided it does not conflict with the terms of your funding or visa requirements.
- Full-time jobs cannot be held alongside a full-time stipend.
- International students are generally limited to 20 hours of work per week
If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact
Dr Michael Collins .
Please view a list of
supporting documents to upload with your application.
For more information on the admissions process generally, please visit our
how to apply for a research degree webpage or contact the Doctoral College at research.degree.admissions@plymouth.ac.uk
The closing date for applications is 16 December 2026.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview after the deadline. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received a response within six weeks of the closing date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.