Plant Biology (information system) PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

University of Worcester Research School

Bidirectional mobile sRNA signalling in pea-downy mildew interactions

Plants are constantly being challenged by microbial pathogens and they have evolved the capacity to detect and defend against these incoming microbes. Read more

Supervisor: Prof M Tor

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

The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Unlocking the potential of plant cellulose for the production of new materials and chemicals

Plant biomass, in the form of plant cell walls are the only renewable resource sufficiently abundant to make a meaningful contribution to decreasing CO. Read more

Supervisors: Prof S Turner, Dr J Pittman

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

University of Oxford Department of Biology

Unravelling the mechanisms behind plant stress sensing

Agricultural production and food security are severely threatened by the loss of arable land and climate change, with increasingly harsher droughts, floods, and heat waves reducing crop productivity by more than 50%. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Bolla, Dr EBG Baena-Gonzalez

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

MSc by Research: The Generation Gap – understanding tissue communication during grain development

Cereal grain provides more calories than any other source to our diet, making grain production vital to food security. We study grain development in barley, a globally important cereal, and a powerful genetic model system. Read more

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

The James Hutton Institute Postgraduate Training

Structure-function analysis of a plant virus RNA transport protein

Background. Plants form the basis of human nutrition but crop yields are increasingly under threat from climate change and the associated shifts in pathogen distributions. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Tilsner, Dr J Bos

14 June 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Durham University Department of Biosciences

Genetics of flowering shoot temperature responses in plants

The shape of plants is shaped by both genetics and environment; changes in response to temperature can be the most dramatic of all. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Hepworth

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

MSc by Research: Speeding up the plant microbiota: investigating the impact of speed breeding on host-microbe interactions in the barley rhizosphere

Supervisors: Dr D Bulgarelli, Dr C Campoli

Feeding a growing world population amid climatic modifications and international conflicts represents an unprecedent challenge for crop production. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Signaling pathways controlling epidermal development in cereals

Plants living on land face brutal threats from pests, dehydration and temperature. To survive and thrive, land plants evolved a waxy ‘cuticle’ and distinctive epidermal cells such as gas pores and defensive barbs. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Jasmonate control of barley development

From the earliest farmers to modern plant breeders, humans have continually modified the body plan of cereals, sometimes drastically, to generate higher grain yields. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Regulation of Architecture in Barley

Plant architecture, or body plan, plays a key role in determining grain yield of crop plants. However, we have little understanding of the molecular genetic basis of architecture in the temperate cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), especially in comparison to the warm weather crops such as rice (Oryza sativa). Read more

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

MSc by Research: Molecular mechanisms underlying aphid effector virulence activity

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

Pests and diseases are a major threat to food security with losses ranging between 20-40%. Aphids are one of the most devastating insect pests, globally. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Bos

Life Science Zurich Graduate School International PhD Programs in Life Sciences

International Ph.D. Programs in the Life Sciences

What is the Life Science Zurich Graduate School?. Life Science Zurich Graduate School offers more than 100 funded PhD positions. With around 500 research groups and more than 1600 Ph.D. Read more

Funded PhD Programme (Students Worldwide) Switzerland PhD Programme

University of Sheffield School of Biosciences

Last chance to apply

Climate-ready and community-informed diversification of local food systems

Climate change adaptation requires diverse food systems that are created by adopting novel crop varieties andspecies. Read more

Supervisor: Prof C P Osborne

26 April 2024 PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only