Developmental Biology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Dundee

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

MSc by Research: Investigation of the interplay between the cell cycle and Notch intracellular domain levels in presomitic mesoderm cells in somitogenesis

Supervisor: Prof J K Dale

One of the key processes in embryo development is somitogenesis. This is the formation of segments, known as somites, that go on to develop into bone and skeletal muscle. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Function of presomitic mesoderm specific phosphorylation of the Notch intracellular domain in somitogenesis

Supervisor: Prof J K Dale

The Notch signalling pathway is one of the key pathways required for the developing embryo. It is especially important for the process of somitogenesis, the formation of body segments that develop into e.g. Read more

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

MSc by Research: m6A modification of segmentation clock mRNAs and its role in somitogenesis

Supervisors: Prof J K Dale, Dr P Murray

During early embryogenesis, segments (somites) are formed during a process called somitogenesis. These somites will go on to form the bones and muscles of the skeleton. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Regulation of Kinetochore function by PLK1

Supervisor: Dr F G Pelisch

Accurate partition of the duplicated genome during cell division is crucial for cellular viability and organismal development. Chromosome mis-segregation is a major source of aneuploidy and it is a hallmark of cancer, while in oocytes represents the major source of miscarriages and genetic disease. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Deciphering the role(s) of Cdk1 during oocyte meiosis

Supervisor: Dr F G Pelisch

Meiosis is a specialised type of cell division that produces haploid daughter cells known as gametes that are important for sexual reproduction. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Investigation of coordination of cell divisions during early embryonic development

Supervisor: Prof C J Weijer

Gastrulation is an essential process in early development, during which the forming ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm take up their correct positions in the embryo. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Understanding the beginning of life: the role of non- canonical ubiquitylation in early embryonic development

Supervisor: Dr V De Cesare

Ubiquitin is a small, yet influential, protein that is attached to other substrates to control their stability or activity in a process called ubiquitylation. Read more

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

MSc by Research: Non-canonical functions of SRSF protein kinase (SRPK) in pluripotent stem cells

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

The overarching goal of our research is to identify and characterise the protein kinase signalling pathways that control stem cell pluripotency and differentiation and determine how protein kinase signalling is disrupted to cause human developmental disorders. Read more

Supervisor: Dr G Findlay

MSc by Research: Monitoring and manipulating kinase activity in stem cells

Supervisor: Dr J Januschke

Posttranslational modifications of proteins are important regulatory events that impact most if not all physiological functions of cells. Read more

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

MSc by Research: How are SUMO substrates selected for modification ?

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

SUMO has diverse roles in cellular physiology that in most cases are mediated by its ability to interact non-covalently with hydrophobic patches of low sequence complexity known as SUMO Interaction Motifs (SIMs). Read more

Supervisor: Prof R Hay

MSc by Research: Analysis of the involvement of mechanosensory system in food search and feeding behaviour

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

Animals rely on their sensory system to find food and avoid predators. Although olfaction and gustation have been well studied, effect of mechanosensation on food search is underexplored although touch is used frequently in human infants. Read more

Supervisor: Dr V Singh