World-Leading Doctoral Scholarship in Psychology and Neuroscience and Biology

Project

Motor neuron disease (MND) is an umbrella term for a collection of different diseases that effect the working of the motor neurons, which are the cells controlling movements since they directly connect to the muscles. It is a particularly aggressive disorder with a life expectancy of between 1-5 years after diagnosis, and the progression of the disease is such that there is increasing body paralysis leading ultimately to death. There is no cure, and treatments are still palliative in nature, because several biochemical changes occurring within the motor neurons remain unclear. Recent studies have now shown that there is some overlap in the biochemical pathways that are activated during neurodegeneration, including diseases associated with memory and executive function (dementia), that are often found in comorbidity with impairment of motor functions. 

This project will explore the role of the Willin/FRMD6 gene as a new biochemical target involved in MND pathogenesis.  The Willin/FRMD6 encodes for a protein that the Gunn-Moore group initially discovered and was shown to be an upstream modulator of the “Hippo” biochemical pathway that has recently been shown to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression. The Gunn-Moore group has identified that Willin/FRMD6 expression is specifically decreased in the neurons of AD patients. Using spatial transcriptomics and animal models of MND, the Allodi group has uncovered that the Willin/FRMD6 gene is downregulated in motor neurons during early stages of disease. Hence, this is potentially a completely new biochemical pathway to be identified that forms a new link between the work in MND and dementia.

We now aim to 1) validate Willin/FRMD6 downregulation in animal models of MNDs carrying human genetic mutations. This will include mouse models carrying SOD1, TARDP, FUS and C9orf72 mutations causing both sporadic and inherited forms of MNDs. Moreover, validation of Willin/FRMD6 downregulation will be performed also on postmortem patient material; 2) perform bioinformatic analysis using existing datasets obtained from AD patient material and MNDs to identify common pathways of neurodegeneration; 3) investigate a Willin/FRMD6-deficient transgenic mouse to unravel the role of the Willin/FRMD6 and the Hippo signalling pathway in neurodegenerative diseases. Hence, this is potentially a completely new biochemical pathway to be identified that forms a new link between the work in MND and dementia.

Value of award (per year)

Full-fees award and stipend. The stipend will be paid at the current UK Research Council rate (£19,237 in 2024-2025). The stipend will be paid pro-rata to part-time students.

The scholarships do not cover any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees, Visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, IELTS fees, costs for travel to and from the UK or research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years (full-time). Scholarship holders will be expected to have submitted their thesis for examination by the end of that period. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply for the scholarship after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews.  You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship.

Additional criteria

You must have applied for a PhD programme at St Andrews.

You must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews or another institution.

As part of the scholarship application you will be required to upload a personal statement. This should serve as a cover letter for the research project application as a whole, and should include:

• An outline of your suitability for the project (project criteria can be found in the "Eligibility" and "Project Description" sections above).
• Why the project interests you.
• What you would bring to the project in terms of previous skills and expertise.
• Any ideas that you may have for the realisation of the project.

How to apply

1. Apply for admission as a doctoral student beginning in the academic year 2025-26. Please apply to the School of Psychology and Neuroscience. Please see the advice on applying for research programmes. After submitting your PhD application, you must allow at least three working days for processing and issue of your log-in details before you can apply for the scholarship. Once you have received an email confirming your access to the My application portal: 
2. Apply for the scholarship, which is available through the World-Leading Scholarship 6: Identifying novel targets for the treatment of Alzeimer's and Motor Neuron Disease application form. You can access this application through the Scholarships and funding catalogue in the Scholarships and Funding section of My application. 
• Enter the catalogue by following the instructions in the email, then choosing Scholarships and funding (under 'Useful links') and then clicking View the scholarships and funding catalogue.
• Select 2025/6 as the Academic Year and click ‘Refresh list’.
• Find the World-Leading St Andrews Doctoral Scholarship that you wish to apply for in the list of scholarships (using the filter box if necessary), click Apply and complete the application form.
• You can also use the catalogue to search and apply for other scholarships for which you are eligible. 

Scholarship application form guidance

If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so, to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to that course.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab) 

If you apply to this scholarship, details from your course application may be passed to the selection panel solely for the purpose of merit-based assessment. 

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on View or continue my funding applications in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application within two months of the application deadline.