Nottingham

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University of Nottingham

University of Nottingham

Results from the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) reaffirm the University of Nottingham as among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research.

Our research provides real-world responses to global challenges and we’re placed 7^th in the UK for research power according to analysis by Times Higher Education

Securing sustainable food supplies, ending slavery, developing greener transport, and striving for net zero aviation are just some of the challenges where our world-leading researchers are driving innovation.

We support an international community of 3,000 researchers, 8,000 postgraduates and 160 research groups. Bringing together talented, passionate and dedicated people who strive to make discoveries that change lives and societies across the world.

University of Nottingham

Our REF2021 performance at a glance:

90%* of our research is classed as ‘world-leading’ (4*) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*)
100%* of our research is recognised internationally

*According to analysis by Times Higher Education.

51% of our research is assessed as ‘world-leading’ (4*) for its impact*

*According to our own analysis

We are placed in the top 5 for our research in Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Area Studies and Economics
Our research in Public Health and Primary Care placed 1^st in the UK for real-world impact, with Engineering placing third, and nine of our units of assessment are in the top 10 for the impact of their research
We are placed 1^st for our research environment in Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Computer Sciences

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Academic Units

Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Hydrogen - SusHy

Research Profiles:

Fully funded PhD studentships at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Hydrogen

Division of Cancer and Stem Cells

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Sheela Jayaraman )
Understanding transcription factor complexes controlling endothelial cell quiescence and escape from quiescence
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Sheela Jayaraman )
Understanding transcription factor complexes in endothelial quiescence

Envision DTP

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr F Schrodt)
A scent of biodiversity – environmental volatile organic compounds to monitor biotic interactions
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Stephen Grebby)
Evaluating the pre and syn-collapse conditions of rainfall-triggered landslides in Indonesia: steps toward improved forecasting
(PhD Supervisor: Dr S Gosling)
Freshwater storage at the “roof of the world” under climate change
(PhD Supervisor: Dr R Briganti)
Modelling extreme sea states in a changing climate
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Lisa Yon)
Revealing human impacts through time in the Brazilian Pantanal using integrated lake sediment analyses
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A MacColl)
Why do populations fail to adapt to environmental change?

EPSRC CDT in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof Bill Nimmo)
Developing Filtration Technologies: Optimising Flue Gas Filtration Assets in the UK Energy from Waste Sector
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Claudia Matz)
Sustainable feedstocks for low carbon chemicals manufacture

Research Profiles:

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems

EPSRC CDT in Sustainable Chemistry Atoms-2-Products

Research Profiles:

Fully funded 48-month PhD studentships in a range of STEM disciplines available at the EPSRC and SFI CDT in Sustainable Chemistry

Faculty of Engineering

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Richard Smith )
3D microstructural imaging of aerospace alloys. - (ENG 1717)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
3-year PhD studentship: 3D printing in vitro models to understand the impact of the bacterial biofilm/host environment on the effectiveness of antimicrobials in cystic fibrosis - (ENG 1624)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
3-year PhD studentship: 3D printing of low dimensional materials for sensing - (ENG 1669)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
3-year PhD studentship: Functional Devices and Structures through 3D Multi-material Printing Scale-Up - (ENG 1685)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Cath Harvey)
BAE Systems sponsored iCase studentship: Human-Centred Design for AI Agents in Underwater Maritime Applications - (ENG 1701)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Axinte)
Computer vision and robot control for performing on-wing repair of aero-engines - (ENG - 1398X1)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A La Rocca)
EPSRC CASE Conversion Studentship with Liebherr Machines Bulle - (ENG 1690)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Simone Morra)
From nature to industry: applying H2-metabolising enzymes to sustainable biocatalysis
(PhD Supervisor: Dr R Remenyte-Prescott)
Improving reliability of medical processes using modelling and technology - (ENG 1711)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Axinte)
Mechatronics system for hybrid manufacturing processing - (ENG 1316X2)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Axinte)
Microstructural and surface integrity in machining of specialist composite materials for next generation aero-engine applications - (ENG 1317X2)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Luke Parry )
Multi-material metal 3D Printing for compact, lightweight heat exchangers for high power thermal management (Studentship I)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr G Gordon)
Ph.D. studentship: Developing Artificial Intelligence Tools for Designing Next-Generation Medical Endoscopes
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Richard Smith )
PhD - Ultra-thin opto-acoustic fibre optic probe for cancer characterisation.
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Carol Eastwick)
PhD Funded Studentship: Liquid Hydrogen for Aviation, CFD/AI Modelling - (ENG 1707)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Helena I. Gomes)
PhD Opportunity: Critical Metal Recovery from Wastes using Bioleaching and Electrodialysis - (ENG 1671)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
PhD Project: 3D printing next-generation actuators for soft robots and devices
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
PhD Project: 3D-Printed Micro-Robots for Medical Applications
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
PhD Project: Functional 3D/4D Printing of Responsive Structures
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Centre for Additive Manufacture)
PhD project: Functional Structural Colour Devices through 3D Printing
(PhD Supervisor: Dr S Greedy)
PhD Studentship in Electromagnetic Compatibility for 25kV Rail Systems, funded by Network Rail - (ENG 1864)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A Marshall)
PhD Studentship: Assessing the impact of deep shafts in urban areas - (ENG 1675)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr R Remenyte-Prescott)
PhD studentship: Bridge Health Monitoring for Risk-Based Asset Management - (ENG 1710)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Martin Dornheim)
PHD studentship: Synthesis and characterisation of hydrogen storage materials - (ENG 1697)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Luke Parry )
Project Title – Multi-material metal 3D Printing for compact, lightweight heat exchangers for high power thermal management (Studentship 2)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Axinte)
Rolls Royce sponsored PhD scholarship - Machining of new aerospace materials - (ENG - 1591)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Axinte)
Rolls-Royce sponsored PhD Scholarship, Design and Simulation of Stiffness-Adjustable Robotic Systems for Performing on-Wing Repair of Aero-Engines - (ENG 1318X2)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Tanvir Hussain)
Rolls-Royce sponsored PhD Studentship in CMAS-resistant Thermal Barrier Coating - (ENG 1698)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Kevin Webb)
The Fast and Non-Spurious: High-content screening without artefact in barrier tissues on a chip
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Salvatore La Cavera)
Ultrahigh resolution endoscopy for cancer diagnosis - (ENG 1686)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr P Agyakwa)
Ultrasonically-assisted materials processing to support sustainable power electronics - (ENG 1663)

Researcher Academy

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr B Phillips)
Development of an optimised contractile strategy to improve the muscle health of older surgical cancer patients
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Bindi Brook)
Enhancing precision-cut lung-slice models with computational modelling and machine learning to understand mechanobiology in airway remodelling
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Laura Sidney)
Functionalised contact lenses for the topical delivery of cell therapies to treat chronic ocular surface inflammatory conditions
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Robert Owen)
Harnessing geometry for next generation bone tissue engineering
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Dorothee Auer)
Is metabolic reprogramming the key to treatment failure in aggressive brain tumours? A multi-nuclear in vivo ultrahigh-field MRI approach.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I Sayers)
Leveraging genetics to identify drug targets for respiratory disease
(PhD Supervisor: Prof S Woodward)
Mechanism of Action Directed Implementation of a High Activity Anti-Pancreatic Cancer Lead
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Mark Humphries)
Optimising patient selection for Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s disease using multimodal machine learning
(PhD Supervisor: Prof J D Brook)
RNA In Situ-ations: Unravelling the Molecular Basis for Myotonic Dystrophy through HighResolution Cryo-Electron Tomography of Disease State RNA Condensates
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Tania Dottorini)
Tackling the pandemic of antibiotic-resistant infections: An artificial intelligence approach to new druggable therapeutic targets and drug discovery
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Sophie Joanisse)
The role of local versus systemic environment and skeletal muscle – bone crosstalk in driving muscle loss in people with osteoarthritis
(PhD Supervisor: Prof D Irvine)
Translation of sustainable bio-instructive materials into medical equipment: Reducing infections and antimicrobials in intensive care environments

School of Biosciences

If you wish to be considered for any School of Biosciences PhD vacancy please email a copy of your CV with a covering letter to biosciences-admissions@nottingham.ac.uk

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof Sacha Mooney)
Does fertilizer placement play a key role in crop establishment?
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Guillermina Mendiondo)
Evaluating impacts of elevated CO2 and temperature on yield and grain quality in cereals
(PhD Supervisor: Prof John Brameld)
The plasticity of insects’ microbiome and the impact of feeding to chickens
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Rebecca Ford)
Understanding the sensory perception of topically applied products

School of Chemistry

The School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham is one of the leading chemistry departments in the UK, with a reputation for world-class research and excellent teaching. With over 40 academic staff, our research interests are wide-ranging, from the traditional core of physical, organic and inorganic chemistry to the interfaces with biology, engineering, nanotechnology, materials science, physics and astronomy. The School of Chemistry was ranked second in the UK in terms of research quality in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Katherine Inzani)
A PhD studentship in computational design of materials for quantum technologies
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Silvi)
Development of Novel Synthetic Methodologies through Visible-Light Photoredox Catalysis - Co-Funded AstraZeneca
(PhD Supervisor: Dr L Johnson)
Development of Organic Batteries
(PhD Supervisor: Dr L Johnson)
Development of the Mg battery
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Cliffe)
Doping quantum radical metal-organic frameworks – DISCO MOF
(PhD Supervisor: Prof Neil Thomas)
Engineering Biology approaches to functionalised hydrogel production
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Cliffe)
Harnessing Quantum Radical Metal-organic Frameworks
(PhD Supervisor: Prof J D Hirst)
Machine learning for chemistry
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Markus Owen)
Machine Learning for predicting yeast phenotype from genotype for biotech applications
(PhD Supervisor: Dr B Pilgrim)
MRes Project – Supramolecular Organic Chemistry
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Neil Oldham)
Native mass spectrometry for the discovery of new anticancer agents
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Darren Walsh)
PhD role 2023/2024: Electrosynthesis
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Darren Walsh)
Sustainable Chemicals Innovations Enabling Net Carbon Emissions (SCIENCE)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof S Woodward)
Synthesis of Fluorinated Organo-rings and Derived Architectures
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Rabi Chhantyal Pun)
Synthesis of Small Molecule Probes for Atmospheric Chemistry Studies

School of Life Sciences

Nottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre (Formerly The School of Life Sciences) covers a wide spectrum of biological and medical sciences in both teaching and research. The expertise in the School spans molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, physiology, anatomy and zoology. The School aims to achieve Excellence in Education, both in its own undergraduate science and postgraduate MSc degrees and with the major contributions it makes to professional courses in Medicine, Pharmacy and Dietetics. The School has a substantial research portfolio and strives to achieve research excellence across this range. There is a large cohort of early career researchers, comprising postdoctoral research fellows and over 250 postgraduate research students, together with highly skilled technical staff underpinning the research activities.

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof R Chalmers)
A new approach to CRISPR-Cas adaptation and the discovery of host accessory-proteins
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A MacColl)
Adaptation to environmental change in animals: ecology, evolution and genomics.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M J Foulkes)
BARIToNE: Exploring genetic diversity for grain partitioning traits to enhance yield in high biomass spring barley germplasm (Project code 24D)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Guillermina Mendiondo)
BARIToNE: Understanding the role of novel gene pathways during germination and its impact on the malting process (Project code 24E)
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M J Foulkes)
BARIToNE: Using Next Generation Nitrogen Sources For Producing Spring Malting Barley and its Impact on Yield and Grain Malt Quality (Project code 24B)
(PhD Supervisor: Prof P S Dyer)
Biology and genetics of reproduction in filamentous fungi
(PhD Supervisor: Dr G Sheridan)
Cancer Neuroscience: Investigating the impact of non-CNS tumours on neuronal plasticity in the brain
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Fiona Whelan)
Competition and cooperation relationships within human microbial communities.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr C M Wade)
Detecting human and veterinary parasitic diseases in snail and slug intermediate hosts
(PhD Supervisor: Dr HM Knight)
Epigenomic transcriptomic mechanisms underlying human neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A Hume)
Exosome biogenesis and organelle trafficking in neurodegeneration.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr N Oldfield)
Functional characterization of gonococcal toxin-antitoxin systems
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A Davison)
Genomic approaches to understanding molluscan parasites
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Georgiou)
How to build and maintain a 3-dimensional polarised epithelial sheet
(PhD Supervisor: Dr C Penfold)
Identification and characterisation of bacteriocins from environmental samples active against strains of Clostridium difficile.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr I R Mellor)
Natural toxins and their synthetic analogues as tools to study ion channels and as potential drugs and pesticides
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Ed Bolt)
Overcoming replication stress–defining new mechanism from archaea to human
(PhD Supervisor: Dr S Loughna)
Providing insights into the molecular understanding of heart development and the formation of congenital heart defects.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Klaus Winzer)
Saving the planet through carbon recycling: engineering bacterial capture of gasified waste for bioplastics production
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Georgiou)
The role of calcium signalling in regulating of tumour cell behaviour
(PhD Supervisor: Dr C Friel)
The role of microtubule regulators in the progression of cancer: investigating the link between BRCA2 and depolymerising kinesins.
(PhD Supervisor: Dr S Wheatley)
The Survivin Interactome in Health and Disease
(PhD Supervisor: Dr M Georgiou)
The use of Drosophila melanogaster to identify novel therapeutic agents for Alzheimer’s disease
(PhD Supervisor: Dr W R A Brown)
Using genome engineering and bioinformatics to understand heterochromatin and centromere function in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and in cancer cells
(PhD Supervisor: Dr A MacColl)
Why do populations fail to adapt to environmental change?

School of Mathematical Sciences

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Kirsty Bolton)
Investigating the role of immunity, behaviour and climate in driving seasonal influenza dynamics.

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham carries out world-leading research and provides outstanding research supervision and education. The school offers a huge breadth of subject matter, from medical engineering, to imaging, stem cell culture, epidemiology, computational modelling and clinical medicine.

Our research supervision and education processes have been built upon years of experience and global best practice, and have resulted in excellent completion rates, happy students and plentiful, high-impact research publications.

Students graduating from the School of Medicine are the next generation of high-profile biomedical researchers and teachers and go on to enjoy successful careers in hospitals, universities and industry.

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof A Ghaemmaghami)
An immune-instructive synthetic mucus for inflammatory bowel disease immunotherapy
(PhD Supervisor: Prof K Gaston)
Investigating the communication between cancer cells and cells in the tumour microenvironment to improve our understanding of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and identify new targets for cancer therapy
(PhD Supervisor: Dr G Figueredo)
Machine learning for the detection of clinical deterioration in respiratory patients
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Ruman Rahman)
Next-generation nanoparticle functionalisation for selective delivery to brain tumours
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Kenton Arkill)
Role of Extracellular Matrix in Hypoxic Metastasis
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Peter Aldiss)
Targeting the sweet tooth to curb population-wide sugar intake
(PhD Supervisor: Dr K Fackrell)
UK validation of the iTICQ (Impact of Tinnitus in Children Questionnaire), a new clinical questionnaire measure of tinnitus in children
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Magdalena Sereda)
Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to study the effects of noise exposure and hearing loss.

School of Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham has a world class reputation for its research and is ranked as the top Pharmacy School for research quality in the UK (RAE 2008). Our portfolio of multidisciplinary research is focussed on understanding and developing treatments for some of the most complex and challenging diseases of our time. To help achieve this we have a global network of academic and industrial collaborators. The School's excellence in research was recognised by the award of the 2007 Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category for 'enhancing significantly the development of new medicines'. The international quality of our academics and researchers has also been recognized by a number of current prestigious personal fellowships including a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship and two BBSRC David Phillips Fellowships.
The School has five major and integrated Research Divisions housed in state of the art modern facilities. Researchers receive funding from the UK Research Councils and the European Union as well as charities and industry. This funding helps us attract around 45 PhD students a year and supports many outstanding postdoctoral researchers.

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Veeren Chauhan)
Deciphering Surface Communication in Nematodes: A Bioinformatics and Mass Spectrometry Approach
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Z Zhu)
Exploring the molecular mechanisms of skin aging process and understanding the relationship between skin aging and systemic aging
(PhD Supervisor: Dr Veeren Chauhan)
Fluorescent Nanosensors for Biological Measurement
(PhD Supervisor: Dr J Dixon)
Gene therapy via haemostatic and tissue restorative wound packing for accelerated healing of soft tissue

School of Physics & Astronomy

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof Ioan Notingher)
Novel subsurface Raman microscopy technologies to enable the development of next-generation drug and implant therapies

School of Psychology

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Prof Stephen Jackson)
PhD in Sensorimotor Neuroscience

School of Veterinary Medicine & Science

Project List:

(PhD Supervisor: Dr Nathan Archer)
mRNA cap methylation – localisation and mechanisms in gene expression and RNA therapeutics

Other PhD Programmes

Midlands4Cities Arts and Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership

The Nottingham BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership

Wellcome Trust 4-Year Doctoral Training Programme in Drug Discovery and Team Science

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Research that changes lives and shapes the future

University of Nottingham

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