Summer student placement: Above and belowground chemical signals in plant-rhizobia-pest interactions

We have an opportunity for an eight-week summer studentship at Rothamsted Research (Harpenden), through the Royal Society of Chemistry ACTF Analytical Chemistry Summer Studentships scheme. The ideal applicant will be studying an undergraduate degree in a biology/chemistry-related field, with an interest in chemical ecology / entomology.

The student will collect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from Faba bean plants, and determine their role on the behaviour of the pea and bean weevil pest (Sitona lineatus), with the aim to develop more sustainable methods to monitor and control the pest. They will be based in the Chemical Ecology group, within the Protecting Crops and the Environment strategic area at Rothamsted Research, and will be trained in the following methods: 

• Analytical chemistry (Volatile collection methods, Gas Chromatography/coupled GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC/GC-MS))

• Chemical ecology – Using bioassays to study insect behaviour in response to chemical cues.

• Experimental design and statistical analysis.

The placement will take place during the summer of 2024 (July-September) for students in the middle years of their first degree (i.e 2/3, 3/4). Students must be registered at a UK or Irish HEI for the majority of their undergraduate degree. Stipend: £400 per week.