UK Food Systems - Centre for Doctoral Training - Project kernels
Project kernels offered by the RVC in 2021 covered many themes within food systems research, including infectious diseases, animal welfare in food systems, policy and regulation, public health and nutrition, and food waste reduction.
Developing a strategy to inhibit fungal conidia function using food grade polymers
This kernel involves studies of sustainable strategies to reduce food wastage during production. Specifically, the project will evaluate a new strategy to inhibit fungal conidia function using food grade polymers. Sustainable control of fungi can improve food security and safety at several levels of production - from farm to fork.
Developing and evaluating novel diagnostics for mycobacterial diseases
Mycobacteria cause a range of diseases in both humans and animals including bovine TB and Johne's disease. Bovine TB is a zoonotic pathogen, that has huge political, economic, and societal impact in the agriculture sector. Johne’s disease is a chronic infectious disease that affects cattle and other ruminants in the UK and worldwide.
The bacteria responsible for both of these diseases are extremely slow-growing - taking weeks to culture and generally difficult to diagnose. The reliable diagnosis of these pathogens is seen as the cornerstone to every approach to controlling and eliminating these infections. We have developed exciting novel bacteriophage-based methods to detect mycobacteria. Here we aim to develop and evaluate novel bacteriophage technology aimed at diagnosing TB and Johne's disease coupled with isothermal DNA amplification to detect these pathogens from blood samples.
Crustacean welfare: improving crustacean handling practices to address evidence gaps and inform industry guidance
A 2021 report commissioned by Defra concluded that decapods are likely to be sentient and should be protected by animal welfare legislation that could regulate practices that cause unnecessary suffering for them. One such practice is ‘nicking’ of the pincers of brown crabs (Cancer pagurus), which prevents damage from their pincers, but increases physiological stress and mortality rates during the days or weeks when they are kept alive between capture and consumption. In this project, we planned to investigate more humane alternatives to nicking that would still be practical in an industry context.
Investigating relationships between agricultural land use changes and infectious disease risks
Major changes are taking place in how agricultural land is used in the UK to produce food, sequester carbon, grow new energy crops, and improve biodiversity. Little is known about how these agricultural land use changes will alter the risk of infectious diseases in livestock and people, and this is the focus of our work. By understanding how and why disease risks increase or decrease, we can improve prevention, surveillance, and control of important infectious diseases.
How to apply
Applications for cohort 2 are now closed.
More information on eligibility, requirements, and the application process can be found here: https://foodsystems-cdt.ac.uk/doctoral-programme
Contact
For enquiries about the UKFS-CDT at the RVC, please contact (person/doctoral school)
Or for more general enquiries concerning the UKFS-CDT, contact directly at info@foodsystems-cdt.ac.uk