The Melbourne and Manchester Graduate Research Group is an international research training group, comprised of researchers and jointly awarded/dual PhD candidates between the University of Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Manchester, UK.
In the first cohort (2020/2021), 20 joint PhD candidates were recruited to multidisciplinary collaborative research teams. See the Current Projects page for more information on the projects the candidates are completing.
Candidates in the program must meet the entry requirements of both Universities to be accepted. They will spend at least a year at each institution over the course of their candidature and be eligible to graduate with a jointly awarded PhD recognised with a testamur from each University.
The second call for Joint PhD Projects is now open. Up to 6 collaborative academic pairings will be funded with two PhD scholarships and supporting funding for each pair. Project proposals are open to all research areas. Successful projects will recruit for candidates who will commence in 2021 in Manchester or 2022 in Melbourne. The closing date for project proposals is October 26, 2020.
There are currently no Melbourne and Manchester Jointly Awarded/Dual PhD research projects available. Contact us if you wish to be alerted of future opportunities; however, please read the application guidelines to ensure you meet the eligibility requirements for the program.
Current Melbourne and Manchester Research Group research projects are listed below.
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Creative economy start-up success: The use and misuse of market research by creative economy entrepreneurs
The creative economy encompasses advertising, architecture, the arts and antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film, interactive leisure software, music, performing arts, publishing, software, television, and radio. The creative economy presupposes entrepreneurial success, and it has become common-place to talk about “market validation,” “customer development”, and “pivots” among creative economy entrepreneurs—suggesting that a market orientation focus yields superior outcomes (such …
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Resolving the spatiotemporal events controlling effector T cell responses during malaria
Malaria remains one of the most important diseases in the world, responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and significant morbidity and suffering in many millions of people, each year. CD4+ T cells are essential for control of malaria, through helping macrophages kill parasites and promoting antibody production. However, it is well known that CD4+ T cell effector responses become …
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Standardizing carbon neutrality in delivery of complex projects
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5°C report of 2018 assesses the impact of global warming, necessitating immediate action for countries to decarbonize. While research has focused on sustainable strategies in the design and construction of environmentally responsive buildings and quantifying the extent of carbon emissions from construction materials, there is a knowledge gap in the extent to which …
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Fur and Feathers: colour, structure and flow control
The objective in this exciting cross-disciplinary project is to investigate the potential of a bio-inspired coating of flexible devices to passively modify energetic modes of an unsteady crossflow and to assess, for the first time, the role of colour in determining mechanical properties. We seek an exceptional candidate with a strong first degree in physics, maths, engineering or bioengineering. The …
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Evolution of resistance to RNA polymerase-targeting antibiotics
Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve in response to the use of these medicines, which decreases the effectiveness of the antibiotics to control infections. Resistance leads to prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality rates. The UK government and other important health organizations, such as WHO, understand and support the need …
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Making up the global city: the financing and governing of urban infrastructural futures
Many cities around the world are struggling with how to finance and to govern their transport infrastructure. Faced with a range of economic, environmental, political and social challenges, a growing numbers of learning from each other, experimenting with a range of models. For cities in the most industrialized countries this involves both existing and new infrastructure. Moreover, the value of …
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Statistical models for social influence and contagion in dynamic, large-scale urban networks
Social influence and contagion occur in large-scale populations and have a crucial impact on a multitude of individual and societal outcomes, from political opinion to mental and physical health and from integration to inequality. The interpersonal networks connecting people in society affect how influence and contagion unfold, but the networks are subject to change over time. Understanding the joint evolution …
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Integrating Urban Sustainability and Digital Platforms?
The project focuses on comparing strategic urban responses and implications in Greater Manchester and Greater Melbourne. The research is at the interface of urban studies and innovation studies that synthesises two debates: first, debates around visions of future sustainable cities and how these are incorporated in to urban strategies and policy; and second, the emergence of digital platforms as a new …
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Understanding lineage switching in haematopoietic malignancies as a mechanism of resistance to CAR-T therapy
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common cause of cancer related mortality in children and young adults. Although outcomes have improved significantly a substantial number of patients are either refractory to initial therapy or relapse after achieving a clinical remission. Long term survival in these patients is very poor and, in this context, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy …
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A novel future ion therapy accelerator
Proton therapy is the most rapidly-expanding method of radiotherapy, with a number of new proton treatment centres being established around world that are primarily based on high-intensity isochronous cyclotrons; an example of this is the recently-installed 250 MeV Varian cyclotron at which a research beamline has been installed where Dr. Appleby and Dr. Owen are carrying out research into rapid …
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Identifying the mechanisms of sub-clinical corneal inflammation during contact lens wear
Have you ever wondered what happens to the surface of the eye when you apply a contact lens? Some people suffer from red and painful eyes with their contact lenses and many wearers suffer from discomfort at the end of each lens-wear day. We speculate that these two types of responses (corneal inflammation and wearer discomfort) both derive from the …
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Microscale fluid dynamics around coral surfaces
This fully funded project will develop a new biophysical approach to coral studies, integrating mathematical modelling, numerical simulations and lab-on-chip experiments. Although the Great Barrier Reef spans more than 2,300km, fundamental processes driving the health and function of corals such as nutrient uptake, oxygen exchange and bacterial recruitment occur at sub-millimetre scales. Despite their importance, we still largely lack a quantitative understanding of the governing transport processes. The PhD …
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Quantum measurement of donors in near-surface ion implanted devices
Einstein’s most revolutionary idea, of the light quantum, has led to the concept for radical new types of quantum technology that uses the strange rules of quantum mechanics to process information encoded in quantum bits, qubits. Especially promising qubits are ion implanted donor atoms in isotopically pure semiconductors including silicon. Successful development of large-scale devices that can solve important problems …
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Exploring therapeutic alliance for digital mental health
Effective digital health interventions can be used to supplement under-resourced traditional forms of therapy or in some cases replace them. These interventions can reduce the resource burden on mental health services, extend services to isolated users, provide 24/7 support, and reduce the stigma and cost of attending traditional services (Mental Health Task Force, 2016.) It is well established that successful …
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Nanostructured membranes for selective toxic gas separation
The global chemical industry is facing a crisis in dealing with polluting emissions and the resulting environmental impact. This PhD programme is focused on solving these problems through technology development. The programme will create novel membrane technology that is specifically designed to actively sieve out toxic gases from industrial emissions. This technology also has a lower energy duty compared to …
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Sea-level rise and everyday lives in small island states
This doctoral project will focus on strategies of ‘fortification, accommodation and retreat’ in response to sea-level rise in small island states. The doctoral candidate will be part of a research team working on an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, titled “Sea-level rise and everyday lives in small island states”. The project aims to advance understanding of the impacts of sea-level …
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Creative industry policy transfer to Asian countries: Exploring the role of UNESCO and the British Council
The cultural and creative industries have travelled far and wide from their initial policy uses in Australia and the UK. Virtually every country in the world now uses the terms in one way or another in their cultural, urban, and development policies. Though relatively little is known about what these terms have come to mean through the process of their …
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Material politics, urban nature and residential neighbourhood design in the Global South: how architecture can rupture and repair the native, historical, and cultural landscapes of modern Mexico
In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released a report declaring that up to one million species are at risk of extinction within the next few decades, largely due to human activities. Urban landscapes, and the people who live in them have a critical role to play in actively reversing this current trend. The design and construction practices …
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Mycocyclosin-based photoaffinity probes
Professors Munro and Hutton have an established collaboration investigating enzymes from the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), with the overarching aim to characterize their functions and exploit these proteins as novel drug targets. The gene encoding for the Mtb enzyme CYP121 is essential for mycobacterial viability. CYP121 generates the natural product, mycocyclosin, an oxidatively modified cyclic dipeptide. It is therefore …
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Development of advanced porous materials and processes for hydrogen/methane separation under the natural gas pipeline conditions
Hydrogen (H2) is the ultimate clean energy, and currently is primarily produced by steam reforming of hydrocarbons (mainly natural gas) and electrolysis. The high availability of surplus renewable electricity (from solar and wind) has enriched the source of renewable H2 significantly recently. The storage and distribution of H2 is a major challenge due to the difficulty of liquefaction. Existing natural …
Professor Michele Acuto
Michele Acuto is director of the Connected Cities Lab, Professor in Urban Politics and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Making up the global city: the financing and governing of urban infrastructural futures.
Dr Douglas R Brumley
Douglas Brumley is a DECRA Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the Faculty of Science and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Microscale fluid dynamics around coral surfaces.
Dr Simon D’Alfonso
Simon D’Alfonso is a Lecturer in the School of Computing and Information Systems in the Melbourne School of Engineering and is along with Professor Reeva Lederman is the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Exploring therapeutic alliance for digital mental health.
Professor Mark Dawson
Mark Dawson is a clinician-scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He is the program head of the Translational Haematology Program, Group leader of the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory and Consultant Haematologist in the Department of Haematology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. He is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Understanding lineage switching in haematopoietic malignancies as a mechanism of resistance to CAR-T therapy.
Dr Christiaan De Beukelaer
Christiaan De Beukelaer is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Policy in the School of Culture and Communication in the Faculty of Arts and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on
Creative industry policy transfer to Asian countries: Exploring the role of UNESCO and the British Council.
Associate Professor Laura Downie
Laura Downie is an Associate Professor and an inaugural Dame Kate Campbell Fellow in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Identifying the mechanisms of sub-clinical corneal inflammation during contact lens wear.
Professor Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is a Professor of Urban Policy Studies and Director of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Integrating Urban Sustainability and Digital Platforms?
Dr Amy Hahs
Amy Hahs is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences in the Faculty of Science and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Material politics, urban nature and residential neighbourhood design in the Global South: how architecture can rupture and repair the native, historical, and cultural landscapes of modern Mexico.
Professor William Heath
Bill Heath is Head of the Heath Group in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (DMI) in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. He is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Resolving the spatiotemporal events controlling effector T cell responses during malaria.
Professor Benjamin Howden
Benjamin Howden is Director of the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory (MDU PHL), Medical Director of the Doherty Centre for Applied Microbial Genomics and Head of the Howden Research Group in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. He is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Evolution of resistance to RNA polymerase-targeting antibiotics.
Dr Felix Kin Peng Hui
Felix Hui is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Management and an Academic Specialist in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering in the Melbourne School of Engineering and also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Standardizing carbon neutrality in delivery of complex projects.
Professor Craig Hutton
Craig Hutton is Group Head of the Hutton Group in the Bio21 Molecular Science & Biotechnology Institute, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science. He is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Mycocyclosin-based photoaffinity probes.
Professor David Jamieson
David Jamieson is a Professor of Physics in the School of Physics in the Faculty of Science and also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Quantum measurement of donors in near-surface ion implanted devices.
Dr Johan Koskinen
Johan Koskinen is a Senior Lecturer In Social Network Analysis in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Statistical models for social influence and contagion in dynamic, large-scale urban networks.
Professor Reeva Lederman
Reeva Lederman is a Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems in the Melbourne School of Engineering and along with Simon D’Alfonso is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Exploring therapeutic alliance for digital mental health.
Dr Kevin Gang Li
Kevin Li is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering in the Melbourne School of Engineering and also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on the Development of advanced porous materials and processes for hydrogen/methane separation under the natural gas pipeline conditions.
Dr Celia McMichael
Celia McMichael is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography of the Faculty of Science and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Sea-level rise and everyday lives in small island states.
Dr Greg Nyilasy
Greg Nyilasy is a Senior Lecturer in Management and Marketing in the Faculty of Business and Economicsand is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Creative economy start-up success: The use and misuse of market research by creative economy entrepreneurs.
Professor Richard Sandberg
Richard Sandberg is a Chair of Computational Mechanics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering and also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Fur and Feathers: colour, structure and flow control.
Dr Colin A. Scholes
Colin Scholes is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Melbourne School of Engineering and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project on Nanostructured membranes for selective toxic gas separation.
Dr Suzie Sheehy
Suzie Sheehy is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Accelerator Physics in the Faculty of Science and is also the project lead for the Melbourne-Manchester Research Group dual program project A novel future ion therapy accelerator.
The IRTG Coordinator team consists of:
- Petra Van Nieuwenhoven
- Jennifer De Gabriele
The team works with the project leads on operational activities, including recruitment and the end to end graduate research lifecycle processes for joint PhD candidates. Please direct all your enquiries to jointphd-admin@unimelb.edu.au.