The University of Hertfordshire, in partnership with Ansell Ltd., are seeking two, highly motivated PhD students to undertake a 3-year project to further develop and validate the use of an animated mannequin comprising integral chemical sensor array to establish next generation technologies for evaluating whole-body protective suits. This unique, multidisciplinary project will include aspects of toxicology, electrical engineering, computational mathematics and chemical analysis.

About the project

Current strategies for evaluating personal protective equipment (PPE) adhere to well established, standardised test regimes. For example, swatches of PPE material can be evaluated in isolation by measuring the breakthrough times of toxic chemicals. More realistic testing requires the evaluation of whole suits when worn by volunteers (wearing passive chemical dosimeters) whilst undertaking physical tasks in a contaminated environment. Such exposures are necessarily limited to relatively non-toxic chemical contaminants. Moreover, the use of passive dosimeters precludes a temporal resolution of suit performance. The aim of this project is to further develop an animated mannequin equipped with real-time chemical sensors to enable the assessment of protective ensembles against a wide range of toxic chemicals. This is a substantial, multidisciplinary project that will provide a unique and broad training opportunity for the successful candidates.

About the Research Centre

The Toxicology Research Group within the Centre for Research in Topical Drug Delivery and Toxicology brings together multidisciplinary expertise in biological, chemical, physical, analytical and toxicological sciences to address key challenges in protecting public health. This project will be based at the University of Hertfordshire’s state of the art Toxicology facility based in Wiltshire, UK. Please visit go.herts.ac.uk/toxicology to learn more about our work.

Supervisors

Dr Hazem Matar, Dr Luke Savory, Dr Mike Draper and Prof Rob Chilcott.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold, or be about to attain, a first class or upper second-class (2:1) Honours degree or equivalent from a recognised institution or a Masters degree in a relevant subject. Self-motivated candidates with excellent problem-solving skills are encouraged to apply.

Start Date:

November 2021. Three-year studentship.

How to apply

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be addressed to Dr Matar ([email protected]).

To apply for the studentship applicants are required to provide:

• A completed application form available from: https://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/31105/uh-application-form.pdf
• A cover letter explaining their interest in the project (personal statement in the application form).
• Your qualification certificates and transcripts
• A copy of your passport photo page
• Two academic references

Completed applications should be emailed to [email protected] using the project title as the subject line.

The PhD studentship is open to UK students and EU students who have settled status.

Closing date

The closing date for applications is 22^nd October 2021.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview in October and November. If you do not receive a reply within 3 weeks of the deadline, you have unfortunately been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Funding Notes

This project is fully funded by Ansell Ltd who will also generously cover PhD tuition fees and provide a stipend at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) recommended rates.