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How day-to-day research training and support is provided: Initial training will be provided jointly by Haslam/Rudd, followed by day-to day experimental support from a post doc in the lab. Experiments will be co-designed and developed collectively, these will then be developed by the candidate.

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 7

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: We have joint meetings with the Napier, Eastmond, Kurup and Beaudoin research labs every other week. Theses are typically in person (Teams access is available). this is a chance for everyone to discuss their research and any outsanding issues. Our labs are large (24 people) and designed to stimulate interactions between researchers working in the same area.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; In person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Typically researchers manage there own time, however, availability in core hours (10 to 4) is encouraged.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Regular meetings with the academic supervisor are encouraged e.g. every two months. The candidate is encouraged to develop direct communication with the academic supervisor e.g. support with experimental planning, update them with progress.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): < 1 week

Communication: I am available at any time on email or WhatsApp but do not expect the candidate to contact or respond beyond normal hours. When on site the candidate is free to drop in and discuss research questions etc.

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How day-to-day research training and support is provided: In rotation 1 the student will be trained by Neil Brown and his team at the University of Bath, with regular online meetings with the Rothamsted team. The second rotation and main project will be based at Rothamsted. Tim Mauchline will provide overall guidance to the project with inputs from Neil Brown as well as Jason Rudd, David Withall and Ian Clark. The day-to-day supervision will be done by George Lund.

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 8

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: Growing health ISPG work package meetings take place weekly, Microbiology (MMEG) lab meetings every two weeks, Chem ecology lab meetings every 2 weeks. There will also be opportunity to join the Brown lab group meetings online when the student is based at Rothamsted.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; Mixture of virtual/in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Work at Rothamsted is within the core working hours (e.g. 9-5.30), though there is scope for flexibility.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: The academic supervisor will be the main point of contact for the first rotation. For the rest of the project (rotation 2 and main project) the academic supervisor will join the weekly supervisory meetings online. Dr Brown will support research, analyses, publication and outreach throughout.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: I am contactable by emails at all times. I also operate an open door policy and I am happy to have ad hoc conversations with students in addition to the time-tabled meetings.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: You will be trained by NG, DS, SP and KHK in wheat genetics, wheat genomics/pangenomes, GWAS analyses, QTL analyses, marker development and the development of heterogenous inbred families for high resolution mapping. Additional training is available via other members of the wider Wheat Pathogenomics team in fungal biology, wheat root infections and in the quantitative analysis of the subsequent root take-all infections and accompanying root architecture changes using both classical and AI-assisted root phenotyping. HWN will provide additional training in the genome and epigenome biology of wheat and how to identify signatures of DNA methylation, histone marks and small RNA loci across the QTL. MD, ND and the RRes Bioimaging staff will provide support, training and advice in the use various bioimaging approaches and softwares. Later on in their project, WC will provide biological containment category 2 and 3 training, advance molecular biology training/support and then train the student in the BSMV-VIGS and BSMV -VOXs transient systems to be used in this project involving experimental Nicotiana benthamiana and wheat plants. KHK, DS and the DSW appointed data steward Dr Melina Velasquez at RRes will provide the student with support and training in data handling, data fairification and open data policies and processes. As the project proceeds and becomes more complicated because of the range/number of experiments ongoing at once, the student will be given advice and mentoring on time management and how to develop more agile working practices. From the project outset and throughout the project different members of the supervisor team will provide the student with support to ensure the development of critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, hypothesis setting and testing, the correct experimental designs are discussed and established before experiments commence and that data analyses, interpretation and data storage are continue in a timely manner alongside all the practical aspects of their project. 

Supervision style: Directive support: A / Training structure: 7

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: We have a joint weekly meeting within the Wheat Pathogenomics research group (~23 persons) focusing on different aspects of wheat interactions with six different pathogen species either in roots, leaves and/or floral tissues. These meetings are very interactive and the scientific and technical discussions are very varied, informative and insightful. There is also a monthly journal club. Monthly research discussion meetings take place at RRes involving all the scientists within Protecting Crops and the Environment, strategic area (~80 persons) which covers many different aspects of weed, insect and pathogen research. In addition, this PhD project is aligned to the BBSRC funded ISP Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) with ~70 PI led groups over eight partner organisations. Within DSW WP2 Delivering Resilience led by KHK, the student will interact with students and post docs and technical staff at the John Innes Centre, the Earlham Institute and NIAB Cambridge to discuss research ideas and be trained in new techniques and participate in bespoke fundamental and more applied research workshops. DSW also holds an annual research day which is attended by all the aligned PhD students and all scientists aligned to DSW (~175). RRes holds an annual 3 day PhD symposium for all their PhD students (~70) whether based predominantly at RRes or elsewhere. At Exeter the student will be involved with research group activities within the wider Plant Sciences department. Especially those involving other plant-microbe interactions and where bioimaging and new AI assisted image analysis techniques and approaches are now routinely used. 

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; Mixture of virtual/in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Work at Rothamsted is within the core working hours (e.g. 9-5.30), though there is scope for flexibility.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Considerable involvement of the second supervisor (Hans-Wilhelm Nützmann) and their research group is planned. There will be at least a regular online joint meeting once ever 2 months with the HWN group with more meetings scheduled as necessary. Additionally, the student will spend the second rotation based at Exeter, supervised by HWN and his group, to learn specific bioinformatics methods to enrich their genome analysis skills. Over the course of the three additional years of the studentship, it is anticipated that the student will spend further periods of time at Exeter, conducting follow-up analyses, as well as for presenting and discussing results with HWN and MDs groups. One of the strengths of this project is the substantial expertise in bioinformatics and additional genomics and bioimaging approaches provided by the diverse members of the Hans-Wilhelm Nützmann and Mike Deeks groups at Exeter which is anticipated to greatly benefit the student.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): < 1 week

Communication: Available to e-mail every day. I may contact you outside of working hours, but I do not expect responses outside working hours. Meetings will need to be arranged in advance. Welcome to drop in if my door is open but encourage a meeting to be arranged first (even if for later that day).

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How day-to-day research training and support is provided: You will be trained by me alongside the postdoc who is added to this proposal. You can also follow other PhD students in the lab, to learn about basics. 

Supervision style: Directive support: B / Training structure: 9

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: We have a lab meeting every other week focusing on the lab's issues and main research findings. We also have a bioinformatics meeting every other week for discussion related to issues with analyses, etc.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; Mixture of virtual/in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Working pattern in accordance with Rothamsted's working hours. Extra working hours can be used by the student when and if necessary. 

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Academic supervisor plans to meet virtually monthly, and in-person two times a year (once in Bath and once in Rothamsted). The student will spend some time in the lab of University of Bath during the rotation projects and will be fully integrated into Taylor's group. In addition, the student is welcome to attend the virtual lab meetings which occur every week. There are also lab socials twice a year, one in the summer and one at Christmas. 

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: Available to e-mail every day and available in the office for four days a week. One day a week I work from home, but can be easily be contacted via e-mail, telephone, text message. 

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How day-to-day research training and support is provided: You will initially be trained by Dana MacGregor alongside support staff from Laboratory Support and Horticultural & Controlled Environment teams, members of the wider agroecology group, or the current PhD student in the group when and if applicable. Additional day-to-day experimental support will be provided by Dana MacGregor / Tim Mauchline and the wider Soil Microbiology group as required. 

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 8

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: Soil Microbiology and Weed Molecular Biology groups share office and laboratory space, so materials, methods, and machinery are all shared among personnel working in these groups. There is ample opportunity for joint lab meetings (which occur in each group approximately fortnightly already) if the project is funded. 

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; In person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): As a manager I prefer that the work is completed rather than hours accounted for. Much of the work will be hands-on and require regular maintenance therefore, it is expected that the student is present in the laboratory / glasshouse during the core hours of 10:00 to 16:00 and additional hours to make up a standard working week of 37.5 hours. However the nature of plant and microbial work means that additional evening and weekend time may be required in order to ensure smooth running and completion of the project. 

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: The current focus of the lab is to understand how genetics interacts with an organism's ecology to determine the evolution of traits under natural selection. To reach this goal we investigate the genetic basis of evolutionary relevant traits such as flowering time, plant architecture and seed traits under different environments. We also use a direct approach to determine the adaptive value of candidate genes, using experimental evolution. To study genetic and ecological effects we perform research in both field and laboratory settings. In the context of this project, Virtual and Face-to-face Meetings will be held regularly and support given to the student in the laboratory and rotation and main thesis as needed. 

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: I have an Open Door policy and when not travelling am regularly in the office Monday – Friday for at least the core hours of 10:00 to 16:00. I am open and honest with my timetabling, ensuring that my calendar is accessible to those I work with to view and put meetings into, and if approached when unavailable, ensure that I make time to trouble-shoot and problem-solve as quickly as possible when I am free.