Help Shape the Future of Virus Research
Join DETECTIVE at the Centre for Virus Research
The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) is pleased to advertise two fully funded Doctoral Candidate positions as part of DETECTIVE (Data-driven Excellence in Training of Epidemiological, Clinical, Technological and Innovative Virus Experts), an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network. DETECTIVE brings together leading academic, public health and industry partners across Europe to develop innovative approaches for anticipating, detecting and responding to emerging viral threats.
Based in Glasgow, successful candidates will join an internationally recognised virology research environment and become part of a Europe-wide training network focused on viral genomics, epidemiology, diagnostics, artificial intelligence and pandemic preparedness.
Application deadline: 8 October 2026.
How to apply: virusdetective.eu
Applicants for the University of Glasgow posts (DC12 and DC13) must satisfy MSCA mobility rules and cannot have lived or worked in the UK for more than 12 of the previous 36 months. Candidates who do not meet this criterion may wish to explore the 12 other excellent doctoral positions below, available through DETECTIVE at partner institutions across Europe.
Doctoral Candidate 12 (DC12). Virome dynamics in wastewater across urban, rural and high-risk settings.
Supervisors: Dr Ana da Silva Filipe, Dr Katherine Smollett and Dr Joseph Hughes
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of wastewater surveillance as a powerful tool for monitoring infectious diseases at the population level. However, many questions remain regarding the diversity of viruses circulating in wastewater, how these viral communities change over time and location, and how genomic information can be used to identify emerging threats before they are detected through traditional clinical surveillance.
This project will develop new approaches to characterise viral diversity in wastewater collected from urban communities, rural regions, hospitals and airports. The successful candidate will work at the intersection of molecular virology, genomics, bioinformatics and machine learning to improve our ability to identify, monitor and assess emerging viral threats.
Research highlights
The student will:
- Develop novel sequencing-based assays for the detection of WHO priority viruses.
- Compare targeted sequencing methods with semi-agnostic probe-based commercial panels.
- Characterise virome dynamics across multiple geographical and seasonal settings.
- Investigate the detection of mutations associated with vaccine escape and antiviral resistance.
- Evaluate AI approaches to predict host range, zoonotic potential and infection risk from wastewater fragmented genomes.
The doctoral candidate will undertake international secondments with Tampere University (Finland) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, UK).
Requirements for DC12
Applicants must:
- Hold a First Class or Upper Second Class (2.1) Honours degree, or international equivalent, in a life sciences, biomedical sciences, quantitative biology, or related discipline.
- Have a strong interest in infectious disease research and emerging pathogens.
- English language requirements in line with the University of Glasgow's terms. For details see: University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Postgraduate research opportunities A-Z - Virology
- Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary and international research environment.
- Have not resided/carried out work or studies in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the April 1st, 2027.
- Must not hold a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.
Desirable:
- Experience with molecular biology, including PCR techniques and knowledge of high-throughput sequencing technology and data analysis.
- Master's degree (or equivalent) in biomedical sciences, microbiology, virology, immunology, epidemiology, or a related field.
Doctoral Candidate 13 (DC13). AI-Driven Surveillance for Respiratory Infections.
Supervisors: Prof Antonia Ho, Prof David Lowe, Prof David Robertson and Dr Clarisse de Vries
Respiratory viruses remain among the greatest threats to global public health. Early identification of unusual outbreaks and individuals most at risk of severe disease is critical for future pandemic preparedness. This project will develop next-generation AI-driven surveillance systems capable of integrating multiple sources of healthcare data to improve outbreak detection and clinical risk prediction.
The project builds upon the successful CHARISMA enhanced surveillance study, which has recruited approximately 2,000 patients hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and linked these data to routine healthcare records. The doctoral candidate will contribute to expanding these analyses through integration of genomics, clinical informatics and imaging data to create advanced multi-modal artificial intelligence models.
Research highlights
The student will:
- Integrate complex healthcare, laboratory and genomic datasets.
- Develop algorithms for real-time respiratory disease surveillance.
- Design and validate AI models capable of identifying patients at risk of severe outcomes.
- Define clinically relevant respiratory infection endotypes.
- Gain experience using Trusted Research Environments (TREs) to securely analyse healthcare data.
- Work closely with NHS, public health and academic stakeholders to translate research into real-world impact.
The doctoral candidate undertake a three-month international secondment in at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, and a one-month secondment at the Quality Control and Molecular Diagnostics, UK.
Requirements for DC13
- Applicants must:
- Hold a First Class or Upper Second Class (2.1) Honours degree, or international equivalent, in a life sciences, biomedical sciences, quantitative biology, or related discipline.
- Have a strong interest in infectious disease research and emerging pathogens.
- English language requirements in line with the University of Glasgow's terms. For details see: University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Postgraduate research opportunities A-Z - Virology
- Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary and international research environment.
- Have not resided/carried out work or studies in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the April 1st, 2027.
- Must not hold a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.
Desirable:
- Experience with health informatics or machine learning/AI
- Master's degree (or equivalent) in biomedical sciences, microbiology, virology, immunology, epidemiology, or a related field.
Interested in more DETECTIVE projects?
The remaining 12 studentships are available in Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, England and Spain:
Project DC1 involves identifying biomarkers linked to severe neurological and respiratory infections using proteomic, metabolomic and transcriptomic profiles, and discovering genetic factors that influence disease susceptibility.
Project DC2 involves studying how vaccine-derived polioviruses evolve and spread and identifying factors driving poliovirus re-emergence.
Project DC3 involves improving the early detection of infectious diseases and developing advanced screening methods to monitor spread of new infections such as arboviral infections.
Project DC4 involves developing AI-assisted virus culture and characterisation platform for virus detection and characterisation to improve diagnostics, surveillance, and epidemic preparedness.
Project DC5 involves developing organoid models to study the neurological impact of emerging viruses and understand severe neurological disease.
Project DC6 involves developing organoid models for antiviral testing and evaluating therapies to improve personalised treatment strategies to viruses such as enteroviruses and West-Nile virus, utilising integrated -omics techniques.
Project DC7 involves assessing population susceptibility to enteroviruses and improving outbreak monitoring by using biobank data to build and strengthen explanatory and predictive models of surveillance.
Project DC8 involves studying population immunity to enteroviruses and epidemiological signals to develop models to predict epidemic risk and outbreaks.
Project DC9 involves using wastewater surveillance to monitor viral circulation and developing early-warning systems for future epidemics and pandemics.
Project DC10 involves developing and standardising advanced viral detection and sequencing methods and identifying biomarkers linked to severe respiratory infections through integrated omics analysis.
Project DC11 combines genomic data sharing, harmonised bioinformatics workflows, and AI-based tools for variant detection and outbreak forecasting to translate genomic findings into public-health action.
Project DC14 involves developing personalised antiviral treatments for children with severe viral infections using organoid models.
About CVR
The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research is one of Europe's leading virology research centres, bringing together experts in human, animal and zoonotic viruses. Located within a purpose-built research facility on the University of Glasgow's Garscube Campus, the CVR provides world-class expertise in viral genomics, bioinformatics, molecular virology and public health research.
For informal enquiries regarding the Glasgow projects, prospective applicants may contact the relevant supervisory teams through the Centre for Virus Research: DC12 ana.dasilvafilipe@glasgow.ac.uk; DC13 Antonia.Ho@glasgow.ac.uk