Plant Biology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

University of Worcester Research School

Developing synthetic microbial communities for the control of pea downy mildew

Demand for food production is increasing due to growing global population, reduced land availability for agriculture, concern over the effects of the environment on agriculture, and decreasing yield reliability because of climate change. Read more

Supervisor: Prof M Tor

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

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

Université de Montréal Plant Science Research Institute

Growth analysis of body-axis regulators during radial and bilateral style morphogenesis

We are seeking highly motivated candidates to join our team to work on a project aiming to understand how the body-axis regulators control growth during radial and bilateral style morphogenesis. Read more

Supervisor: Dr D Kierzkowski

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Université de Montréal Plant Science Research Institute

Hormonal control of stamen filament elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana

We are seeking highly motivated candidates to join our team to work on a project aiming to understand the hormonal control of stamen filament elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Read more

Supervisor: Dr D Kierzkowski

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of the Highlands and Islands Environmental Research Institute, UHI North, West and Hebrides

Last chance to apply

Stochastic multi-stressor events in peatlands – exploring nutrient effects on Sphagnum drought tolerance

This project is part of the NERC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training, ECOWILD. For more details, and for a full list of projects offered under this programme, please visit. Read more

Supervisors: Dr M Bischoff, Ms J Hall, Dr AH Hodge

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

Durham University Department of Engineering

Engineering plant microbiome PhD: Exploring and engineering the plant microbiome for increased resilience

Title. Exploring and engineering the plant microbiome for increased resilience. Project Description. Plants are impacted by numerous abiotic and biotic factors above and below ground, such as nutrient availability, local climatic conditions, and the surrounding fauna. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Keating

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

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Agricultural genomics, chromosomes, genome and repetitive sequence evolution in crops, farm animals, models and wild relatives

In this project, you will investigate the large-scale organization of an agricultural species and its wild relatives. We will use genomic data from DNA sequencing, including methylation where appropriate. Read more

Supervisor: Prof P HESLOP-HARRISON

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Harper Adams University Department of Agriculture and Environment

Detection and management of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) infecting potatoes in Great Britain

Detection and management of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) infecting potatoes in Great Britain. Award summary. Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Back

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

University of York Department of Biology

Self funded MSc by research or PhD in Biology: Chemical warfare in the rhizosphere: understanding the defensive role of plant root exudates against the bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum

Lead supervisor. Dr Andrea Harper. The student will be registered with the Department of Biology. R. solanacearum is a devastating bacterial plant pathogen that has a global distribution, wide host range, and no effective control methods. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Harper

30 June 2024 PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of Dundee School of Science and Engineering

Binks Institute for Sustainability: Development of a rapid characterisation method for the engineering response of trees for hazard assessment and use in nature-based solutions

Climate Change is resulting in increasingly extreme weather events which can have significant impacts on transport infrastructure. Read more

Supervisors: Prof J Knappett, Dr M Ciantia

30 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Heriot-Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society

Mitigating the impact of environmental stress on the quality and sustainability of malting barley

Climate change is challenging our ability to reliably grow crops. This PhD will be focused on the impact this is having on our capacity to produce a sustainable supply of malted barley for use within the brewing and distilling industries. Read more

Supervisor: Dr R Alexander

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

Queen’s University Belfast School of Biological Sciences

Modelling-4-Grass: Modelling climate change impacts on Grassland in N. Ireland

Expertise in data-based modelling is ever-more sought after in the field of life science research. Do you see yourself as one of these forefront modellers of the future?. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Williams

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

The University of Manchester Department of Materials

Alternative Materials and Processes for the Textile and Fashion Industry

The fashion and textile industries conduct some of the most polluting practices on the planet. Many initiatives are striving to positively impact the issues the industry faces, in line with climate targets and UN sustainable development goals. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Wood

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

University of Bradford Faculty of Life Sciences

Therapeutic resolution of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) by natural products

Research Group: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating cardiovascular disorder which, if left untreated, leads to heart failure and death. Read more

Supervisors: Dr T Nasim, Prof C Wright

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

University of Adelaide School of Chemical Engineering

Pharmaceutical process development, optimization and scale-up of plant-based cancer drugs

Project - We are pleased to announce an exciting PhD opportunity within our ground-breaking project dedicated to the optimization of extraction and purification processes of plant-derived molecules, with potential applications in cancer treatment as a collaborative effort with the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute. Read more

Supervisors: Dr LT Toronjo-Urquiza , Dr AKJ kumorkiewicz-jamro

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

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)

University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Leveraging plant biomechanics under hostile environments

Supervisory Team: Dr Siul Ruiz, Dr Sharif Ahmed, Dr James Le Houx, Prof Tiina Roose. Project description. The UK food-related activities contribute to a staggering quarter of a trillion pounds (>10% of UK GDP in 2022). Read more

Supervisor: Dr S Ruiz

31 August 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Max Planck Society International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) "From Molecules to Organisms"

International Max Planck Research School "From Molecules to Organisms"

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) “From Molecules to Organisms” provides excellent interdisciplinary training across the disciplines of structural, molecular, cellular and developmental biology as well as bioinformatics, genomics and evolutionary biology. Read more

Funded PhD Programme (Students Worldwide) Max Planck Research Programme

Funded PhD Programme (Students Worldwide) Max Planck Research Programme

International Max Planck Research School "From Molecules to Organisms"

University of Tübingen

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) “From Molecules to Organisms” provides excellent interdisciplinary training across the disciplines of structural, molecular, cellular and developmental biology as well as bioinformatics, genomics and evolutionary biology. Read more

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: 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

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

University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Exploring plants’ sensing capability with vibroacoustics

Supervisory Team. Dr Michal Kalkowski, Dr Giacomo Squicciarini. Project description. We invite applications for a PhD position in plant vibroacoustics. Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Kalkowski

31 August 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

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