Up to three 4-year, fully funded ‘Joint A*STAR – EPSRC DRIVE-Health Studentships’ are available to support PhDs commencing October 2026, covering tuition fees, stipend, and bench fee.
Students recruited to these studentships must spend a minimum of 18 months and a maximum of 24 months at A*STAR Research Institute in Singapore with the named A*STAR supervisor(s) as part of the research and training programme. This is called the “attachment” period, and it will start in their second academic year.
Applications are accepted from citizens of the UK, the EU, the USA, Canada, Latin America, and Australia.
Please read the specific Key Dates and How to Apply sections on this collaboration with A*STAR. Apart from the regular DRIVE-Health entry requirements and application process, A*STAR applicants will have a 2-tier interview process: by a KCL academic panel and a panel from Singapore.
Background
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterised by progressive paralysis, leading to death from respiratory failure within 2-5 years. Mitochondria are essential cellular organelles responsible for regulating a number of key processes, and their malfunctioning is one of the earliest pathophysiological in ALS. Mitochondria possess their own DNA distinct from the nuclear genome, and despite their central role in ALS, efforts in investigating mitochondrial DNA variation in the context of ALS have been very limited.
Novelty & Importance
This project proposes a novel comprehensive approach to study the role of mitochondrial variants in the pathogenesis of ALS, which has potential to discover new insight into the biological basis of this disease and to highlight new treatment avenues.
Aims & Objectives
This project aims to elucidate the role of mitochondrial DNA variation in the pathogenesis of ALS. We will achieve this by 1) utilising large-scale genomics datasets of thousands of people with ALS and controls, to identify mitochondrial mutations associated with disease risk or distinct clinical outcomes. 2) We will then utilise in-silico methods such as APOGEE, and modelled using molecular dynamics simulations, for the characterisation of their functional effect, and 3) study their mechanism of action in cell models of the disease. Mitochondrial variants will be created in pluripotent stem cell (PSC) lines using the cybrid technology. PSCs will be differentiated into spinal motor neurons, and phenotypic analyses will be carried out by immunostaining and metabolic profiling assays. Aims 1-2 will take place at KCL in year 1-2, and aim 3 will take place at A*STAR in Singapore in year 3-4.