FULLY FUNDED PhD – Mechanisms of Wolbachia restriction of arboviral replication in Aedes aegypti

We are excited to offer a PhD project in virology, fully funded for UK home students and starting in October 2026. This is a collaboration between groups at The Pirbright Institute and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), the largest centres in the UK for research into viruses of livestock and humans, respectively. Students will be registered at the University of Glasgow.

Applicants will be shortlisted based on an anonymised form, which will be assessed based on their aptitude and enthusiasm for research, and their understanding of how the PhD project would support their personal and professional development. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview at the Pirbright Institute.

Potential applicants may contact the Principal Supervisors informally for more information (doing so will not affect the anonymised shortlisting process). They can be contacted by email (details on the University of Glasgow website), or via the contact forms on the Pirbright Institute website. If you have any questions about the application process please contact cvr-phdprogramme@glasgow.ac.uk

Project description

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are increasing in global significance due to climate change and urbanisation. The most important vector of human arboviruses is the urban mosquito Aedes aegypti, which transmits dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses. There are no antiviral therapies and reducing human cases relies mostly on vector-control. However, mosquitoes are evolving resistance to the historic use of insecticides, and therefore novel approaches for controlling arboviral transmission are needed.

One of the most promising new vector control methods is the obligate intracellular bacterium Wolbachia. Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular symbionts, and following lab introduction into Ae. aegypti, some strains are able to inhibit / block arbovirus replication and transmission. Two specific strains of Wolbachia have been used to significantly reduce dengue cases in field trials and large-scale operational deployment in a number of countries. Despite this success, the mechanisms by which Wolbachia block arbovirus replication and transmission remain incompletely understood.

This PhD project will explore two complementary mechanisms of Wolbachia-mediated arboviral blocking: immunological priming through NF-κB-regulated innate immune signalling pathways, and the modulation of lipid metabolism by Wolbachia. The project will explore the balanced contribution of these two mechanisms to Wolbachia-mediated arboviral blocking, their differential impact on different arboviruses, and differential interactions with the Wolbachia strains used in the field. On a technical level, the project will include training in mosquito husbandry including working with and characterising transgenic mosquitoes, advanced microscopy techniques for in vivo imaging, high containment viral infections at containment level 3, RT-qPCR for measuring viral replication and antiviral immune responses, and functional lipid assays. The student working on this project will join two vibrant and welcoming research groups with synergy between this project and the work of others in the teams, allowing opportunities for collaboration and mentorship within the groups.

Important Notice

All applicants must complete and include the anonymised form in their UofG application: CVR-Pirbright Application Form 2026.docx

References

Rainey SM, Lefteri DA, Darby C, Kohl A, Merits A, Sinkins SP (2024) Evidence of Differences in Cellular Regulation of Wolbachia-Mediated Viral Inhibition between Alphaviruses and Flaviviruses. Viruses 16:115.

Geoghegan V, Stainton K, Rainey SM, Ant TH, Dowle AA, Larson T, Hester S, Charles PD, Thomas B, Sinkins SP (2017) Perturbed cholesterol and vesicular trafficking associated with dengue blocking in Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti cells. Nature Communications 8: 526.

Hoffmann AA… Sinkins SP (2024) Introduction of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying wAlbB Wolbachia sharply decreases dengue incidence in disease hotspots. iScience 27: 108942.

Hollinghurst P, Cheung Y, Alexander R, Russell T, Fredericks A, Kumar V, Wallace L, Dietrich I, Mendum T, Davidson A, Fernandez-Sesma A, Maringer K (2026) Mosquito NF-κB-mediated innate immunity exerts arbovirus-specific antiviral effects at multiple stages of the viral life cycle. bioRxiv 2025.11.06.687020

Cheung Y, Park S, Pagtalunan J & Maringer K (2022) The antiviral role of NF-κB-mediated immune responses and their antagonism by viruses in insects. J Gen Virol 103:001741

Funding Notes

This project is co-funded by The Pirbright Institute and the University of Glasgow’s MVLS Industrial Partnership PhD Programme. It is fully funded for 3.5 years including fees, consumables and a stipend set at £2.2K above the UKRI basic rate (a projected starting stipend of £24K p.a.).

This PhD is available for UK home students, who must meet the following criteria:

be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or

have settled status, or

have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or

have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

Applicants who are successful at interview will also be required to pass the Pirbright Institute’s security and occupational health screening processes before a final offer can be issued.