Project description

This exciting PhD will examine how parental age and the social environment interact to shape offspring health in a wild mammal, by combining epigenetic sequencing, bioinformatics, fieldwork, and statistical analysis.

Health and performance decline with age in humans and other animals, but the consequences for offspring of older parents remain unclear. Since individuals age at different rates, intergenerational effects are unlikely to result from parents’ chronological age, but from their biological age (the age their condition reflects). New epigenetic clocks based on DNA-methylation provide a powerful way to accurately estimate biological age for the first time. The social environment also exerts strong effects on health across species, raising the possibility that social conditions could buffer, or exacerbate, the effects of aged parents.

You will generate epigenetic clocks of biological age and characterise social environments, health, and fitness in meerkats (Suricata suricatta), to ask:

 Do parental chronological or biological ages predict offspring health, survival, and reproduction?

 Are epigenetic clocks more accurate when calibrated against chronological age, remaining lifespan, or phenotypic declines?

 Can favourable social environments compensate for the ill-effects of older parents?

The Kalahari Meerkat Project offers an excellent opportunity to answer these questions and pursue new research directions. You will have access to rich data with matched blood samples from hundreds of individuals, and carry out additional fieldwork to update datasets.

At the University of East Anglia, you will join a friendly, collaborative community of world-class researchers, with strengths in ageing research. Your training will include molecular biology (epigenetic sequencing), computation (bioinformatics, machine learning, statistical analysis), working with animals (radio-tracking, animal handling/sampling), and deep knowledge of evolutionary biology and gerontology. The Norwich Research Park Biosciences DTP offers additional training under the Vitae Research Development Framework, which provides a personal development plan tailored to your needs and aspirations.

The Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP) is offering fully funded studentships for October 2026 entry. The programme offers postgraduates the opportunity to undertake a 4-year PhD research project whilst enhancing professional development and research skills through a comprehensive training programme. You will join a vibrant community of world-leading researchers. All NRPDTP students undertake a three-month professional internship placement (PIPS) during their study. The placement offers exciting and invaluable work experience designed to enhance professional development. Full support and advice will be provided by our Professional Internship team.

This project has been shortlisted for funding by the NRPDTP. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on 3,4 or 5 February 2026.

Visit our website for further information on eligibility and how to apply: https://biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/.

Our partners value diverse and inclusive work environments that are positive and supportive. Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background.

To maximise accessibility and attract students from underrepresented groups to our programme we have introduced bespoke templates for applicant Personal and Research statements which will enable every applicant to fully represent themselves through providing suitable examples and evidence. These forms are on the NRPDTP website and must be used for these sections of the application form.

Entry requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).

Funding

This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. The studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2025/6 stipend rate: £20,780), and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000pa for each year of the studentship.

References

Cram, D. L., Monaghan, P., Gillespie, R., Dantzer, B., Duncan, C., Spence-Jones, H., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2018). Rank-Related Contrasts in Longevity Arise from Extra-Group Excursions Not Delayed Senescence in a Cooperative Mammal. Current Biology, 28(18), 2934-2939.e2934. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.021

Arneson, A., Haghani, A., Thompson, M. J., Pellegrini, M., Kwon, S. B., Vu, H., Maciejewski, E., Yao, M., Li, C. Z., Lu, A. T., Morselli, M., Rubbi, L., Barnes, B., Hansen, K. D., Zhou, W., Breeze, C. E., Ernst, J., & Horvath, S. (2022). A mammalian methylation array for profiling methylation levels at conserved sequences. Nature Communications, 13(1), 783. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28355-z

Fairfield, E. A., Richardson, D. S., Daniels, C. L., Butler, C. L., Bell, E., & Taylor, M. I. (2021). Ageing European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) using DNA methylation of evolutionarily conserved ribosomal DNA. Evolutionary Applications, 14(9), 2305-2318. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13296

Cram, D. L., Monaghan, P., Gillespie, R., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2017). Effects of early-life competition and maternal nutrition on telomere lengths in wild meerkats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 284(1861). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1383

Sparks, A. M., Hammers, M., Komdeur, J., Burke, T., Richardson, D. S., & Dugdale, H. L. (2022). Sex-dependent effects of parental age on offspring fitness in a cooperatively breeding bird. Evolution Letters, 6(6), 438-449. doi: 10.1002/evl3.300

Parental Age, the Social Environment, and Lifelong Health (CRAM_U26DTP)

Project description

Entry requirements

Funding

References