plant physiology PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

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.

Projects are available in the following areas. Stress responses in crops and sustainable biomass production and processing. The project aims at elucidating several aspects of the control of plant defences and to identify environmentally friendly forms of plant protectants, leading to enhanced crop yields.

Nutritious crops: genomic approaches to improving the nutritional and commercial value of oilseed rape

University of York
Department of Biology

Prof Ian Bancroft, Dr A Harper

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.

Oilseed rape is the third largest source of vegetable oil in the world. It is also a fascinating species in which to undertake genomic studies due to its polyploid ancestry.

Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystems

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr G Phoenix

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.

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

PhD in Plant Environmental Physiology

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof C P Osborne

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.

Supervisor – Professor Colin Osborne, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. We invite applications for a PhD in the area of plant environmental physiology.

Characterising the cyanobacterial cytoskeleton (LEASMITHU20DTP)

University of East Anglia
School of Biological Sciences

Dr D Lea-Smith, Dr G Kelemen

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.

Cyanobacteria (photosynthetic bacteria) are amongst the most abundant organisms on the planet, accounting for approximately a quarter of carbon fixation.

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

PhD: Improving Photosynthesis

Prof A Fleming

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.

Improving photosynthetic efficiency has been identified as one of the few remaining traits for exploitation if we are to achieve the significant increases in crop yield required to feed the projected 9 billion world population by 2050.

Herbivore and mycorrhizal mediation of carbon cycling in heather moorlands

University of Leeds
Faculty of Biological Sciences

Dr S M Sait, Prof K. Field, Prof P Chapman

Application Deadline: 6 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 multiple drivers of environmental change, such as climate change and pollution, have led to widespread negative impacts on ecosystem functioning and services that are critical for human well-being.

Transcription factors mediating light input to the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr P Devlin

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.

The circadian clock is tightly tied to the light environment. Transcriptional feedback loops are able to generate a self-sustaining rhythm of approximately 24 hours which impinges on almost every aspect of physiology in higher organisms.

Comparative analysis of carbon assimilation pathways in key species of marine phytoplankton

University of York
Department of Biology

Dr T Tonon, Dr L Mackinder

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.

Seas and oceans cover more than 70% of our planet, contribute to half of the primary production on Earth, and are responsible for cycling half of the carbon fixed by living organisms.

The evolution of symbiosis - testing the evolutionary theory of ecological conditions driving the emergence of symbioses

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof M Brockhurst

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.

Symbiosis allows organisms to gain novel functions and exploit new ecological niches through the merger of once independent species.