PhD Scholarship – Soil microbiomes, sustainable agriculture and One Health

Description

We are seeking an outstanding candidate to receive a 3.5 year PhD scholarship for full-time research on an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded research project: Unearthing the critical roles of microbiomes in soil health. The project will examine the functional roles of microbiomes in sustainable farming systems and natural green spaces. It also aims to understand functional links between soil characteristics and livestock gut microbiomes, plus develop new indicators of soil carbon trajectories. There will be some flexibility to shape PhD studies depending on the interests of the candidate, including possibly extending into the fields of One Health and ecosystem restoration.

With collaborators and industry networks, the project underpinning this PhD will involve a diverse pipeline of research activity, including field work (coordination, soil sampling, site data collection), DNA laboratory work, soil science, soil respiration testing, metabolomics, bioinformatics, microbial ecology analyses, coding and statistical data analysis (e.g., using R, python), and writing peer-reviewed articles. These pipelines involve multiple experts, and candidates will be supported to learn new skills and follow their interests. That said, demonstrated skills, experience and/or keenness to learn, across at least some of these areas will be viewed favourably. Typically, this type of microbiome research involves analysis of big data, so candidates should ideally have an interest in soils, computer coding/ data analysis and the fascinating interconnected world of microbiomes. Applicants must have strong writing and communication abilities and be able to work effectively within a multidisciplinary research environment.

Flinders University ranks in the Top 25 worldwide for impact in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025, and is in an outstanding period of growth in research capacity and activity. Additional support structures are available at Flinders to encourage Indigenous students including the First Nations Researchers Collective. The PhD candidate will receive supervision from Dr Craig Liddicoat and Professor Martin Breed (both from the College of Science and Engineering), with potential for further supervisor(s) to be added as the PhD research plan develops.

Benefits

The scholarship includes:

• A stipend valued at $36,061* per annum tax free (*increased annually by Consumer Price Index). Additional support is available for Indigenous students at $53,045 per annum in 2026.
• A research Training Program Fee Offset to cover all tuition fees for Australian and New Zealand citizens, or permanent residents of Australia.
• flexible financial support to cover fieldwork costs, conferences and other research costs.

The scholarship will be awarded for a maximum of 3.5 years.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award of this scholarship a student must:

• Be an Australian citizen; or New Zealand citizen; or have been granted permanent resident status; and
• meet PhD admission requirements including: have an Australian Honours degree Class 1 or 2A or equivalent qualification (at least AQF Level 8), including a research component of at least 6 months’ full-time study achieving Distinction (75%) OR including evidence of equivalent research experience, such as a substantial first-author refereed publication or track record as an investigator on a competitive grant; and
• be available to commence as a full-time PhD student at Flinders University in semester 2, 2026