leicester PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Supervisors: Dr Y Markaki, Dr T Schalch

Ever wondered how nature maintains balance of gene expression between sex chromosomes? Well, the 46th chromosome of XX females, the second X, has to be switched off. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Molecular dissection of horizontal gene transfer mechanisms in mycobacteria

Supervisors: Dr A Koyamangalath Vadakkepat , Prof J Schwabe

A fully funded PhD position is available within the lab of Dr Abhinav KV at Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology (LISCB), University of Leicester, UK to carry out structural studies on large macromolecular machines that undertake horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in mycobacteria. Read more

29 April 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Evaluating the impact of genotoxic aldehyde stress in premature ageing

Supervisors: Dr R Hopkinson, Dr K Tanaka

Aldehydes are highly reactive chemicals that are common pollutants and human metabolites. However, the vast majority of aldehydes’ biological functions are unknown. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Natural products in bacterial physiology and chemical interaction

Microbial natural products have diverse chemical structures and bioactivities, which range from cell-cell signalling, nutrient acquisition, antifungal and antibacterial activity to stress resistance (1). Read more

Supervisors: Dr C Jenul, Prof D Jones

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Nuclear and transcriptional dysregulations during cellular senescence

Supervisors: Dr MT Tellier, Dr Y Markaki

Cellular senescence, which is characterised by a proliferation arrest, is a driver of ageing (1). Several stresses can induce cellular senescence, including persistent DNA damage, telomere dysfunction, and oncogene activation. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

The Role of Reactive Sulfur Species in the Ageing Heart

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Second Supervisor. Prof Melanie Madhani, University of Birmingham. Background . Ageing is a natural and complex biological process that involves the gradual deterioration of cells, tissues, and organ systems over time, thus leading to an increased susceptibility to diseases and mortality. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Switzer

University of Leicester School of Psychology and Vision Sciences

Using measures of eye movements and EEG to understand effects of cognitive ageing on reading

Healthy ageing is associated with reductions in visual and cognitive abilities that are required for many activities of daily life (e.g., reading, navigation, object-finding). Read more

Supervisors: Prof K Paterson, Dr A Pagán

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Respiratory Sciences

Molecular level understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved to survive and replicate inside macrophages. The project will investigate the molecular mechanisms underpinning adaptation to this specialised intracellular niche. Read more

Supervisors: Dr H O'Hare, Dr N Garton

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Understanding centrosome function in the human airway

Supervisors: Dr R Mahen, Prof EH Hollox

Breathing sustains our life and is also important for our quality of life. Inside the lung, billions of hair-like structures called cilia beat a million times a day to promote a process called mucociliary clearance. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Investigating the role of SUMOylation in meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation in Arabidopsis

Post-translational modifications of proteins such as phosphorylation, methylation and acetylation have been extensively studied in eukaryotes and now the Small Ubiquitin modifier (SUMO) is gaining attention for its importance in fundamental biological roles. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Higgins, Dr D Guttery

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Unlocking the genetic potential of barley by modulating recombination

Barley is a major worldwide crop used for malting and animal feed. However, breeding new varieties is constrained by the frequency of genetic crossovers (1-3 crossovers per chromosome pair) and their distribution (biased towards the chromosome ends) that underpin crop improvement1,2. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Higgins, Dr D Guttery

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Enhancing meiotic recombination in wheat by modulating RECQ helicases

Wheat accounts for 20% of the calories and protein consumed by humans and is the largest crop in the UK, but yields have plateaued and are susceptible to decline due to extreme weather conditions. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Higgins, Dr D Guttery

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Dissecting the interplay of extracellular vesicle signalling and tryptophan metabolism in schizophrenia pathogenesis

L-kynurenine (KYN) and kynurenic acid (KYNA) are metabolites of the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation and have been found to be increased in the brains of patients with schizophrenia. Read more

Supervisor: Prof F Giorgini

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Structural-guided PROTAC targeting of BMX to modulate apoptotic sensitivity in disease

Supervisors: Dr JF Fox, Dr JH Hodgkinson

What determines at the molecular level whether a cell lives or dies? Regulation of the cellular life–death switch is essential in healthy cells for normal foetal development and for the clearance of damaged cells. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

The Evolution of Vision in Mosquitoes

Background . Due to their capacity to transmit viruses such as Zika and parasites like Plasmodium (the causative agent of malaria), mosquitos are regarded by the World Health Organization as one of the most lethal organisms on our planet (WHO | Global vector control response 2017–2030, 2020). Read more

Supervisors: Dr R Feuda, Dr E Rosato, Dr B Warren

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Molecular Glues as Novel Tools for Tackling Big Challenges in Human Health

Supervisors: Dr RD Doveston, Prof S Macip

Background. The need for new medicines is greater than ever because of an ageing population and the complex clinical challenges brought about by drug resistance and/or side effects. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Identifying the neurogenetic network underlying visually-driven sleep

General background. Sleep is a behavioural quiescence widely observed in the animal kingdom. During sleep, an animal’s motor activity, as well as their responsiveness to environmental stimuli, are largely reduced. Read more

Supervisors: Dr K Chen, Dr R Feuda

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Impact of Hypermutability and Restriction-Modification by Campylobacter jejuni, a foodborne pathogen, on Bacteriophage Control Measures

Campylobacter jejuni is a major foodborne pathogen responsible for thousands of cases gastroenteritis every year. The major source of infections by this bacterial pathogen is contaminated poultry products. Read more

Supervisors: Prof C D Bayliss, Prof M Clokie

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester School of Psychology and Vision Sciences

Understanding the role of pigmentation in retinal and vision development

Establishing structure-function correlations in vision development . The aim of this project is to develop methods to study the relationship between pigmentation and vision development in humans and zebrafish. . Read more

Supervisors: Dr M Thomas, Dr W Norton, Dr J McDearmid

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Loughborough University School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Hydration, metabolic health and physical function across adulthood (Ref: SSEHS/LJBRC)

This project takes an integrative physiology approach to understand how hydration/24-h water intake influence metabolic health and physical function in young/older adults, particularly in the context of climate change/global warming. . Read more

Supervisors: Dr L James, Dr N Martin, Dr H Dugdale, Dr J Škarabot

30 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Loughborough University School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Promoting the health of commercial drivers through lifestyle behaviour change (Ref: SSEHS/SCBRC)

Over the last 10 years, researchers at Loughborough University have led a programme of research seeking to characterise the health and well-being of HGV drivers; and to develop bespoke health promotion interventions. Read more

Supervisors: Dr S Clemes, Dr J King, Dr E Stamp, Dr E Petherick

12 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Population Health Sciences

Investigating the association between cardiometabolic health and labour market outcomes using administrative health data sources

The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on health and work [1]. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Razieh

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Last chance to apply

Mechanochemical synthesis for sustainable chemical manufacturing

22 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Graduate Teaching Assistantship. This is a Graduate Training Assistantship (GTA), which means that you will be required to do some teaching, particularly lab demonstrating, as part of your training. Read more

Supervisor: Dr F Ortu

Last chance to apply

‘Payload-Releasing Electrophiles’ – a new disease-selective delivery strategy for diagnostics and therapeutics

Supervisors: Dr R Hopkinson, Dr K Tanaka

Graduate Teaching Assistantship. This is a Graduate Training Assistantship (GTA), which means that you will be required to do some teaching, particularly lab demonstrating, as part of your training. Read more

22 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Funded PhD Programme (Students Worldwide) Business Research Programme

School of Business Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) funded PhD

University of Leicester

The School of Business is offering fully-funded Graduate Teaching Assistant PhD Studentships starting 23 September 2024. The Graduate Teaching Assistantships are available for full-time campus based registration to our PhD Economics or PhD Management. Read more

Understanding centrosome assembly in healthy and cancerous tissue with imaging

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

This is an opportunity for a scientist to join the lab of Dr Robert Mahen in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the University of Leicester. Read more

Supervisor: Dr R Mahen

Understanding control of genome folding by cohesin

Supervisors: Prof D Panne, Dr T Schalch

Our basic goal is to understand how chromatin structure influences gene regulation. Chromatin is generally repressive in nature but its structure is manipulated by cells in a regulated way to determine which genes are potentially transcriptionally active and which genes remain repressed in a given cell type. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Revealing Reactivity in Cancer-Associated Heme Proteins: Novel Time-Resolved Structural Approaches

Supervisors: Dr HK Kwon, Dr P A Ash

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a heme-containing enzyme involved in the degradation of tryptophan to kynurenine. Cancer cells upregulate IDO1 to escape normal immune responses and, in many cases, a high expression of IDO1 is connected to poor prognosis. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Chemical energy conversion in biology studied using advanced spectroscopic and structural tools

Supervisors: Dr PA Ash, Dr H Kwon

Redox properties of metal-containing active sites are critically important to many biocatalytic processes. one third of all proteins contain a redox-active metal, and ca 22% of submissions to the Protein Data Bank contain a transition metal. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Short and long-term genetic and behavioural consequences of traumatic brain injury in fruit flies

General background . How many fingers am I holding up? What day of the week is it? Follow my finger? These three questions are designed to test your sensory, memory and motor neural abilities following an accident; all three systems are affected by a severe deceleration of your brain. Read more

Supervisors: Dr B Warren, Dr E Rosato, Dr R Feuda

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)