EASTBIO PhD: Mapping Gut Microbiome of African Guinea Fowl

University of St Andrews
· School of Psychology and Neuroscience

Scotland, United Kingdom

16 November 2026; no exact official cutoff time was verified.

This EASTBIO PhD maps the gut microbiome of African guinea fowl and tests how environmental and nutritional factors shape microbial resilience, host health and poultry performance.

The project investigates the gut microbiome of African guinea fowl, an understudied poultry species important to regional food systems. The researcher will examine how diet and environmental conditions shape microbial communities and how those changes relate to host health, behaviour and resilience. Training includes experimental design, animal welfare and health assessment, microbiome bioinformatics, host–microbe biology and statistical modelling. A field component in Burkina Faso adds sample collection and farmer engagement, linking laboratory and computational microbiome work with real production environments.

guinea fowl gut microbiome poultry Burkina Faso nutrition resilience

PhD

Full-time

Four years

EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership

Mapping the Gut Microbiome of African Guinea Fowl

Agricultural and Biological Sciences

University

Amount Scholarship

Funding Type Scholarship

Applicants must meet EASTBIO and University of St Andrews doctoral-entry requirements for a relevant discipline.

Microbiome bioinformatics Animal health assessment Statistical modelling Field sampling Host-microbe analysis

Independent research Interdisciplinary collaboration Scientific communication