Dietary fibre, gut microbiome and cardiovascular health

Decades of evidence support that dietary fibre lowers blood pressure and reduces the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Our team has defined that this happens via the gut microbiome (eg https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.116.024545, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.043081) and identified several therapeutic opportunities and biological mechanisms connecting the gut to host responses using genomic approaches (eg https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cvr/cvaf070/8140352, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.325770). We have several wet and dry lab projects using experimental models, samples from clinical trials, or large datasets to answer questions about how the gut microbiome regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular health. These projects are tailored for the student and are available with funding and supervision within the lab. Examples of projects include: - Nutrition and public health projects determining fibre intake and its properties - Drug development to lead the development of new agonists that activate gut-to-host mechanisms - How dietary fibre, acting via the gut microbiota and their metabolites, affects immune cell migration from the gut, leading to physiological changes in the host Why us? • The vision of our laboratory is to improve cardiovascular health by building exceptional scientists – this means we put our people first. You can read our thoughts on this here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.22321 • Work in a multi-disciplinary team with high psychological safety based in the only heart hospital in Australia, having exposure from pre-clinical research to clinical trials. • Access to exceptional supervision by an award-winning team, including 2024 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Supervision. • High-performing team with publications in Nature Medicine, Nature Cardiovascular Research, several Nature Reviews, Circulation, Circulation Research, and others, plus ~200 awards, including those from the American Heart Association and the Australian Academy of Science. What are we looking for? • A holder of a first-class honours’ or master’s degree equivalent in biology, molecular biology, genetics/genomics, microbiology, bioinformatics, nutrition, public health, drug discovery, pharmacy, or a related field. • A bright junior scientist/researcher/doctor/nurse/dietician who is highly motivated, hard-working, and works well in teams. • Someone with some experience in medical research. • An excellent communicator with proficiency in the English language. For information about our team and to access our lab manual and diversity statement, please visit www.marqueslab.com. PhD scholarships cover living expenses and waive tuition fees for the 3-year PhD program. To apply, please complete the form at: https://forms.gle/4vVdcxCh6uxeVsHu7 Due to the high volume of applications, we will not accept nor reply to applications or enquiries via email. Only applicants who fit the criteria above and completed the full form including confirmation that they read our lab manual will be contacted for a follow-up interview.