Wellcome Trust 4 Year funded PhD programme in Structural Molecular Biology

Research Areas

Our research programmes are universally problem-oriented and address major problems in contemporary biology that can be advanced by structural studies using the full power of the many techniques that we have available to solve them.

Research projects span the biophysical analysis of the fundamental principles and processes behind protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, the physical and chemical manipulation and disection of biological mechanisms, and the application of this fundmental knowledge to understand the biological processes in living cells.

There are currently major research themes in the areas of:

• Protein DNA/RNA Interactions
• Membrane Protein Structure and Function
• Protein Folding and Assembly
• Molecular Recognition
• Protein Engineering
• Directed Evolution and Catalysis
• Chemical Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Molecular Motors
• Molecular Virology

Further details can be found from the Astbury Centre website.

Programme Outline

The four year programme is divided into a foundation year in which students gain a broad-based training, followed by a three year PhD project.

During the foundation year, each student will benefit from taught courses and three rotation projects in different laboratories thus gaining a broad-based experience of research prior to selecting their PhD project from those offered by over 40 host laboratories.

Generic training is provided throughout the four years.

Eligibility and funding

All students accepted onto the programme receive a Wellcome Trust or University of Leeds funded studentship. For EU and UK students this provides full funding. The Astbury Centre offers one scholarship to cover the additional fees for an International student.

Student Case study

“The Astbury Centre boasts some of the best facilities in the UK for structural biology, and so I’ve had incredible access to state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy equipment.

As a result of my research, I am now involved in collaborations across Europe which have allowed me to forge a strong network within both the virology and cryo-EM communities. This is a testament to the global impact of the research carried out in the Astbury Centre.”

Daniel Hurdiss
Wellcome Trust funded PhD student and winner of the 2017 Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year Award.