plant pathogen PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

Dr V Friman, Prof M Brockhurst, Dr D Jeffares, Mr J Elphinstone

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Even though opportunistic plant pathogens must survive in various natural. environments during transmission between hosts, this crucial part of their life-.

TurboID-charging discovery of plant pathogen virulence and host defense mechanisms (JONESS20DTP)

The Sainsbury Laboratory
Graduate Programme

Prof J Jones

Application Deadline: 25 November 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Plant pathogens cause disease and reduce crop yields, secreting "effector" proteins that target host. proteins and suppress immunity.

Transcriptional battles in plant-pathogen interactions: understanding and re-wiring gene regulatory networks to enhance disease resistance

Prof K Denby, Prof I A Graham

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

The severity of plant disease is determined by a battle between pathogen virulence and host plant immunity – understanding this relationship is key to developing sustainable methods of pathogen control.

Transcriptional battles in plant-pathogen interactions: understanding and re-wiring gene regulatory networks to enhance disease resistance

Prof K Denby, Prof I A Graham

Application Deadline: 5 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

The severity of plant disease is determined by a battle between pathogen virulence. and host plant immunity – understanding this relationship is key to developing.

Functional analysis of fungal effector proteins in the barley/wheat powdery mildew plant-pathogen interactions.

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr L Bindschedler, Prof A Devoto

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Pathogens secrete small proteins called effectors or virulence factors which are important for the successful invasion of the host.

How does clubroot obtain nutrients from its living plant host?

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr S A Rolfe

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Clubroot is an important pathogen of Brassica crops. The disease is found throughout the world and causes severe economic losses.

Developing phage therapy to control plant pathogenic bacteria in the rhizosphere microbiome

Dr V Friman

Application Deadline: 30 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Plant pathogenic bacteria cause considerable economic losses to food production systems. The main reason for this is that hardly any effective control methods exist to mitigate this damage.

Regulation of virulence and biofilm formation by quorum sensing and the "stress alarmone" ppGpp in gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

University of Cambridge
Department of Biochemistry

Dr M Welch

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Awaiting Funding Decision/Possible External Funding

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This supervisor does not yet know if funding is available for this project, or they intend to apply for external funding once a suitable candidate is selected. Applications are welcome - please see project details for further information.

We are investigating the complex interplay between cell-cell signalling (quorum sensing), microbial lifestyle (i.e., free-living planktonic cultures vs sessile biofilm communities), growth phase and virulence in gram-negative bacteria.

A helping hand: signal transduction in plant immunity (BANFIELDJ20DTP)

John Innes Centre
Graduate Programme

Prof M Banfield

Application Deadline: 25 November 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Plant diseases are a continuous threat to food production and a major constraint on achieving global food security. One approach to restricting plant diseases is to understand how plant immune receptors recognise the presence of pathogens and transduce signals that lead to disease resistance.

Elucidating infection at the plant-microbe interphase on a cellular, molecular and structural level to improve crop resistance and support food security

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr C Voigt

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Achieving food security is one of the most important global challenges. Crop production and yield has been increasingly threatened by plant pathogens in a rapidly changing environment.