PFDC UROP Opportunities
What is UROP?
UROP is Imperial’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme for students. Undergraduate research is often a student’s first non-classroom experience of the academic research environment and can be the first stepping-stone to a future career in academic and commercial environments. It allows students to participate in real research and enhances appreciation of the research environment.
PFDC funded UROPs
The PFDC-funded bursaries allow students to gain experience in research groups led by independent research fellows at Imperial. Undergraduate students in any year of their degree at Imperial are eligible for this UROP opportunity (external candidates are unable to apply on this occasion).
The UROPs will take place as a 4-week programme between Monday 4th and Friday 29th July 2022, with a £375 per week bursary available to each selected undergraduate student. This bursary provides financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit their completed application form to the named fellow. Please note that application deadlines vary for each opportunity.
If you have any questions about specific opportunities, please contact the names fellow. For general queries about the UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
UROP Opportunities
Iron homeostasis and regulation of gene expression in African trypanosomes
Applications now closed **
Research in the Tiengwe Lab addresses “transition metals and immunity” with a specific focus on iron. Iron is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms. Its restriction by host cells (or nutritional immunity) is an elaborate strategy to limit pathogenicity of invading pathogens. The mechanisms employed by microbial pathogens to overcome host-mediated sequestration are well-studied but not in African trypanosomes; protozoan parasites that infect humans and animals. We use a combination of genomics (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics), cell biology/molecular approaches to (i) identify genes regulated by iron in African trypanosomes, (ii) probe iron stress response pathways by targeted gene knock-ins and knockouts in order to identify differences that can direct future drug design. The UROP project will test the efficacy of novel peptides against trypanosomes in vitro.
Experience Required
Undergraduate student on track for a 2.1 degree in biochemistry, biology or appropriate subject.
Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to a career in bioscience research.
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to c.tiengwe@imperial.ac.uk by 15th April 2022. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Calvin Tiengwe at c.tiengwe@imperial.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
Solution processed organic semiconducting devices
Dr Julianna Panidi’s research focuses on solution processed organic semiconducting materials and electronic devices, working mainly with thin film transistors and organic photovoltaics.
During this UROP, the student will be developing organic thin films from non-toxic solvents and characterise their optical and morphological properties. In this project we will examine the effect of the different solvents in morphology and optical properties. Spin coating will be used to deposit organic thin films and characterisation will be examined through UV-Vis, PL and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the final stage thin film devices will be developed based on the results we will obtain.
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to j.panidi@imperial.ac.uk by 1st May 2022. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Julianna Panidi at j.panidi@imperial.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
Systematic review of relationship between sociodemographic factors and infectious disease risk
Dr Kate Mitchell’s research is focussed on developing mathematical models of HIV and SARS-CoV-2 transmission which incorporate differences in exposure, susceptibility and intervention engagement by socio-economic status and ethnicity. These models will be used to assess the equity and impact of different interventions against HIV and COVID-19.
To inform the development of these models, Dr Kate Mitchell is conducting and supervising systematic reviews of the literature on the relationship between socio-economic status/ethnicity and infection, mortality and risk factors for HIV and COVID-19. To reduce the bias and improve the reliability of systematic reviews, more than one reviewer should independently screen article abstracts and full texts and extract data from selected studies.
The student will conduct independent screening of article titles, abstracts, and full texts and/or independent data extraction from selected articles for one of the systematic reviews Dr Mitchell is conducting on HIV or COVID-19. The student will meet with the other reviewer to identify and resolve any differences in article selection or data extraction. The student will summarise their findings using flow diagrams, tables and/or plots, and will have the opportunity to present their work to colleagues in Dr Mitchell’s research group.
The student will also be invited to join research group meetings and to attend relevant seminars and activities in the department.
Experience required by student
Quantitative skills are desirable. Experience of searching the research literature would be an advantage.
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to Kate.mitchell@imperial.ac.uk by 19th April 2022. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Kate Mitchell at Kate.mitchell@imperial.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
Application of Machine Learning in scale-up microscale fracture modelling
In the group that is currently hosting Dr Mahdieh Ebrahimi’s research, they are using and developing multiscale computational to uncover the mechanical properties of materials. Dr Mahdieh Ebrahimi has developed a fast-semi-analytical method named Discrete Crack Dynamics (DCD), to study microstructural effects on fracture and mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials. Currently, Dr Mahdieh Ebrahimi is adding residual stresses, stress concentrations and thermal variation effects into it as key factors to successfully predict material performance, and durability.
The problem of incorporating the microscale simulations is the microstructure optimization problem where the goal is finding the best set of parameters out of the vast number of design parameters. This makes the methods difficult to use for scale-bridging from micro to macroscale and prediction of materials’ performance in a wide range of operating condition. This is where Machine Learning (ML) can help accelerating the research and scale up simulations.
This project will be a literature review on several ML algorithms implemented in this field and convey the appropriate method to incorporate into our microscale simulation techniques. The student will benefit by understanding the multiscale nature of industrial problems and simulation techniques that are in place to address their issues. They will also learn new ML techniques that have applications in various fields and are not limited to this specific problem. As this project can give a clear roadmap on knowing how to integrate experimental and simulation results using ML, it can be even beneficial for experimentalists.
The applicant will be supported and guided by having the weekly meeting, and as needed. Additionally, postdoctoral researcher Amir Dahari and a PhD student Ghazal Milani working in related areas were contacted in advance, to assure the applicant will receive extra support from them in terms of sharing of knowledge (e.g., literature) and techniques (mathematical and computational methods), and practical approaches to computational facilities usage. A desk can be allocated to the applicant if it is required.
Experience required by student
ME2 & ME3 Module
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to mt811@ic.ac.uk by 20th April 2022. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Mahdieh Ebrahimi at mt811@ic.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
Geospatial Modelling for Species Habitat Conservation
Dr Minerva Singh’s research focuses on using a combination of geospatial data and data science approaches to evaluate the impact of climate and land cover change on tropical forest ecosystems.
During this desk-based study, the student will use commonly used geospatial modelling techniques such as species distribution modelling tool MaxEnt to model the spatial distribution of suitable species habitats for the different tropical biomes. MaxEnt modelling will be carried out for both present and future climate and land-change scenarios. Subsequent GIS analysis will be undertaken to quantify how the coverage provided to the suitable habitats of different species across different tropical biomes changes from current to future scenarios. The student will be provided training to use GIS tools such as ArcGIS and QGIS and access and use public geospatial data resources. The results will then be prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed paper. During the last week, the student will finalise the analysis, explore avenues of further development and present the research findings.
Experience Required
Prior exposure to geospatial data and tools would be beneficial.
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to ms507@ic.ac.uk by 1st May 2022. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Minerva Singh at ms507@ic.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.
Computational biochemistry: towards rational design of lipid-like molecules
Dr Sarah Rouse’s research group are interested in the properties of tissue-specific biological membranes and their impact on both their constituent membrane proteins, as well as their impact on drug delivery vectors such as lipid nanoparticles and viral vaccines. They aim to characterise the molecular level interactions between membranes and specific molecules, in order to rationally design lipid-like molecules with improved properties.
For this UROP project, the student will work within Dr Sarah Rouse’s research group on a feasibility study, generating novel proof-of-concept data which will be incorporated into a research grant proposal. This will give the student experience in designing experiments, working independently and within a team, and generating publication quality figures and data. The 4-week project is intended to be computational to have the most impact, and the student will learn to use linux (or Mac terminal), gromacs (a biomolecular simulation package) and command line tools. Dr Sarah Rouse’s lab research is 50:50 computational and lab-based so it will be possible to also gain lab-based experience in protein/liposome production if this is a strong preference for the student.
Towards the end of the UROP there will be a meeting with collaborators and the research group where the student will present their findings. The student will also be supported to apply for student conference awards to present their research should this be of interest.
Experience required by student
None required; you will need to learn to use linux command line or mac Terminal
Contact details and further information
This 4-week programme will take place between 4th and 29th July 2022 with a £375 per week bursary available to undergraduate students at Imperial College London. This bursary is financial support to cover living costs during the research opportunities programme.
Students should submit the completed application form to s.rouse@imperial.ac.uk by 29th April. You will be informed of the outcome of your application no later than 9th May 2022.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr Sarah Rouse at s.rouse@imperial.ac.uk. For general queries about this UROP scheme please contact the PFDC team at pfdc-support@imperial.ac.uk.