Skip to main content
What types of page to search?

Popular pages: Undergraduate Postgraduate PhD Accommodation Research International students

Alternatively use our A-Z index.

ACCE+ DLA Programme: Biodiversity and infectious disease risk in ecological restoration projects

Funding
Funded
Study mode
Full-time
Apply by
Start date
Subject area
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
How to apply

Join us at Postgraduate Online Open Week

Meet us online this November to find out more about this course and all of our master’s degrees and research opportunities.

Change country or region

We’re currently showing entry requirements and other information for applicants with qualifications from United Kingdom.

Please select from our list of commonly chosen countries below or choose your own.

If your country or region isn’t listed here, please contact us with any questions about studying with us.

Overview

Are you interested in ecological restoration and rewilding? And how this may affect biodiversity and infectious disease risk? Apply for this PhD to study how tick-borne disease risk will change in rewilding projects and develop management tools and guidance for landowners.

About this opportunity

Anthropogenic landscape change, biodiversity loss and infectious disease emergence rank among the greatest of modern challenges. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries globally and landscape scale restoration projects aim to provide long-term benefits for biodiversity. However, there are potential risks of pathogen spill-over as habitats and host-composition changes. Tick-borne pathogens are an increasing threat to human and animal health in the UK and are highly sensitive to environmental change. Despite this we do not know how tick-borne disease risk will change within ecological restoration projects.

As a PhD candidate, you will work within a large ecological restoration project in the Cairngorms National Park to understand how deer management, a key part of UK landscape restoration, to allow vegetation regeneration, and cattle grazing used to encourage habitat heterogeneity will affect tick-borne disease risk. You will study effects of management on host community composition, host movements, vegetation structure and complexity, to understand how these shape tickborne disease risk. You will use a combination of fieldwork, laboratory work and modelling approaches.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will transform our understanding of how infectious disease risk will change in UK landscape restoration projects by:

  1. Collection of baseline tick density, tick infection prevalence, host and habitat data across UK ecological restoration gradients
  2. Modelling of deer, bird and rodent distribution, habitat-use and landscape connectivity, and effects on tick-borne disease risk
  3. Model current and future tick-borne disease risk under 100-year restoration plan
  4. Development of land-manager tools to maximise biodiversity and minimise infectious disease risk

Training and research environment

The student will join a friendly and inclusive research group at the University of Liverpool. Training in field and laboratory techniques, and statistical and modelling analyses in ‘R’ will be provided by the supervisory team. Seminars, training courses, research group meetings at Liverpool and across partner institutions will be able to be accessed by the student to benefit their learning and development. Fieldwork and research will be carried out at the Dalnacardoch Estate in the Cairngorms National Park with the project partner, The Durrell Wildlife Conservation trust. This will provide an excellent training experience for the student, and access to an NGO-Academic crossover environment where the science produced will have the potential for direct translation into management decision-making both directly and through Durrell’s networks. The student will be equipped with interdisciplinary research expertise and applied skills in biodiversity and conservation science, public engagement, policy and management.

Project CASE Status

This project is a CASE project. Your project will be co-supervised by the non-academic partner organisation, and you will spend 3-6 months on a placement with your CASE partner in their workplace. You will experience training, facilities and expertise not available in an academic setting, and will build business and research collaborations.

Further reading

1. Millins et al 2017 Effects of conservation management of landscapes and vertebrate communities on Lyme borreliosis risk in the United Kingdom. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2017 Jun 5;372(1722):20160123. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0123
2. Plowright et al (2021) Land use-induced spillover: a call to action to safeguard environmental, animal, and human health The Lancet Planetary Health, Volume 5, Issue 4, e237 – e245. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00031-0
1. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature065362.
3. Durrell Wildlife Conservation trust, Dalnacardoch Estate Rewilding project https://www.durrell.org/news/durrell-reveals-major-new-scottish-rewilding-project/
Back to top

Who is this for?

We are looking for enthusiastic candidates with a background in biology, conservation, disease ecology, or biodiversity. Experience in fieldwork or data analysis is desirable but not essential; training will be provided. Most importantly, we seek passion for science and the research area.

ACCE+ DLA is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith or religious belief, pregnancy or maternity, parental or caring responsibilities or career pathway to date. We understand that a student’s potential can be shown in many ways and we strive to recruit students from all backgrounds, and support them on their scientific journey.

We have designed our application systems to identify candidates who are likely to be successful in research regardless of what opportunities may have been available to them prior to their application.

Various support and guidance on applying for an ACCE+ DLA studentship, including how to apply; what we’re looking for (including our assessment rubric); details of financial support, training, and placement opportunities available; and details of our recruitment process, can be found at https://accedtp.ac.uk/, in the ‘prospective applicants’ tab.

Back to top

How to apply

  1. 1. Contact supervisors

    Supervisors:

    • Dr Caroline Millins
    • Prof A Fenton
    • Dr Simon Tollington
    • Dr N Anderson

  2. 2. Prepare your application documents

    Notes and details of how to apply are available here: https://accedtp.ac.uk/how-to-apply/

    All applicants to ACCE+ must complete an online application form (see the relevant webpages for full details per ACCE+ partner). This form consists of questions that replace a traditional CV, questions about the project/s you are applying to, and the questions that make up the ACCE+ guided personal statement proforma. The personal statement proforma questions are designed to standardise this part of the application to minimise the difference between those who are given support and those who are not. In addition, depending on which ACCE+ University you apply to, you may be asked to submit additional documents via email (all details are in the online form and the ACCE+ page for each University).

    Link to application details: https://accedtp.ac.uk/acce-dla-opportunities-at-university-of-liverpool/

    Candidates should not submit a separate CV and cover letter or personal statement via email. CVs and cover letters or personal statements received by email will not be considered as part of your application.

    Informal enquiries about the application process may be made to .

    Part-Time Study Options

    All ACCE PhDs are available as part time or full time, with part time being a minimum of 50% of full time, unless stated otherwise in the advert.

  3. 3. Apply

    Finally, register and apply online. You'll receive an email acknowledgment once you've submitted your application. We'll be in touch with further details about what happens next.

    You should only follow this step if you’ve successfully completed the ACCE+ DLA instructions here https://accedtp.ac.uk/acce-dla-opportunities-at-university-of-liverpool/ 

Back to top

Funding your PhD

Add the below in this section for all projects:

NERC ACCE+ DLA programme starts from October 2026.

UKRI provide the following funding for 3.5 years:

• Stipend (2025/26 UKRI rate £20,780)

• Tuition Fees at UK fee rate (2025/26 UKRI rate £5,006)

• Research support and training grant (RTSG).

Note – UKRI funding only covers UK (Home) fees. The DLA partners have various schemes which allow international students to join the DLA but means they are only required to pay home fees. Home fees are already covered in the UKRI funding, meaning that successful international candidates do not need to find any additional funding for fees.

Please note that UK visa and relocation costs cannot be covered by ACCE+ DLA.

Back to top

Contact us

Have a question about this research opportunity or studying a PhD with us? Please get in touch with us, using the contact details below, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

ACCE+ DLA
Back to top