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We have 12 Biotechnology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Bradford
Biotechnology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Bradford
We have 12 Biotechnology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Bradford
A Biotechnology PhD would provide you with the time and resources to research and develop methods and technologies that make use of Biology to improve industry. This could range from improving the efficiency of a biofuel, engineering pigment-producing bacteria to use to dye fabric, or genetically modifying crops to be resistant to a specific pest.
What’s it like to do a PhD in Biotechnology?
A PhD in Biotechnology would allow you to develop a specialist set of laboratory skills in areas such as gene editing with CRISPR and gene delivery through transformation, transfection, and transduction. Biotechnology programmes sometimes have a linked industry partner, in which case, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in a work placement and gain some hands-on industry experience.
Some typical research topics in Biotechnology include:
- Developing therapeutic delivery vehicles
- Engineering enzymes for industry
- Developing or improving biofuels
- Innovating new methods of using bacteria in industry
- Vaccine development
- Developing pest resistant crops
PhD programmes in Biotechnology are mostly fully-funded by either the university, an industrial partner, a doctoral training programme or a mix of these. The projects tend to be advertised, with the scope of the project determined by the supervisor.
Proposing your own project in Biotechnology is uncommon since you need to find a supervisor with research interests that overlap with yours, with all the equipment and expertise you require, and you’ll have to find funding to cover bench and PhD fees.
Day-to-day, you’ll be in the laboratory performing experiments, creating figures and analysing data you collected previously, and talking to your colleagues and supervisor about your methods and results. On completion of your laboratory work in your final year, you’ll submit an original thesis of around 60,000 words and defend this during your viva exam.
Entry requirements
The entry requirements for most Biotechnology PhD programmes involve a Masters in a subject directly related to Biology with at least a Merit or Distinction. If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need to show that you have the right level of language proficiency.
PhD in Biotechnology funding options
The Research Council responsible for funding Biotechnology PhDs in the UK is the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). They provide fully-funded studentships including a stipend for living costs, a consumables budget for bench fees and a tuition fee waiver. Students don’t apply directly to the BBSRC, you apply for advertised projects with this funding attached.
It’s uncommon for Biotechnology PhD students to be ‘self-funded’ due to the additional bench fees. However, if you were planning to fund yourself it might be achievable (depending on your project) through the UK government’s PhD loan and part-time work.
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Machine Learning Controlled Synthesis of Atomically Thin Gold Nanomaterials for the Development of Quantified Lateral Flow Devices
Research Group:
School of Physics and Astronomy
In this project, we will develop machine-learning approaches for the controlled synthesis of novel 2D nanomaterials. Optical properties and morphologies will be used to create a feedback mechanism to control the production of materials with the desired optical properties. . Read more
Pushing the Resolution Limits of High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy
Research Group:
School of Physics and Astronomy
Understanding the structural dynamics of complex molecules is vital to advancing our knowledge of materials, medicine and diseases, yet there are few techniques which can capture motions at high enough speeds or resolution to understand the underlying behaviour. Read more
Use of Fermentation to solve current Food Science, Food Formulation and Sustainability challenges
The use of fermentation by humans dates from ancient times -8000BC- in the search for shelter and food. Fermentation is used nowadays in various areas. Read more
Oncology: Evaluating Photodynamic Therapy in colorectal cancer using patient-derived organoids
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 3rd most common cancer worldwide. Surgery is first line treatment and often in adjunct with chemotherapy. Read more
Immunotherapy: Killing Cancer using Dead Virus
It is now accepted that our immune systems can hold the key to treating otherwise incurable cancers. So-called “immunotherapy” is an increasingly common method of treating tumours, leading to impressive increases in patient responses. . Read more
Haematology: Oncogenic reprogramming of immune cells
Under pathogenic challenges, cells of the innate system become epigenetically reprogrammed and establish immune memory. Read more
Genetics: Investigating the molecular basis of optic nerve degeneration in glaucoma to try and develop a personalized medicine strategy for treatment
The optic nerve is a special sensory nerve that transmits visual impulses from the retina to the brain. Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy of multifactorial origin that affects 1 in 10 elderly individuals. Read more
Genetics: Genetic studies of developmental eye disorders to investigate genotype-phenotype correlations
Developmental eye defects that affect the front of the eye give rise to a spectrum of congenital ocular phenotypes that affect the cornea, lens, iris, trabecular meshwork or the globe itself. Read more
Clinical Gastroenterology: The regulation of GDH expression in Clostridioides difficile
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), the most common cause of infective antibiotic-associated diarrhea in the western world, is diagnosed by a combination of tests that firstly detect the organism, then the toxins that it produces (Planche 2013). Read more
Cancer: Repurposing drugs as new treatments for breast cancer
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer, with over 1 million new cases diagnosed worldwide each year. For some types of BC, hormonal treatments have been very effective but one particular BC subtype, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), is highly aggressive and lacks a targeted therapy. Read more
Control and inhibition of virus replication
The Tuplin laboratory utilises a range of cutting-edge approaches to investigate how arboviruses - specifically Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika viruses - control replication and translation of their genomes through interactions between RNA structures, host cell proteins and non-coding RNA, and the potential of such RNA elements/interactions as novel therapeutic targets. Read more
Design, synthesis and evaluation of novel polysialyltransferase inhibitors as anti- metastatic agents
Research Group:
Institute of Cancer Therapeutics
Polysialic acid plays an essential role in neuronal development, but by adulthood is absent from the human body. Its biosynthesis is regulated by two polysialyltransferases (polySTs). Read more
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