PhD+ Studentship: Selective removal of bitterness compounds during chocolate production

Aston University is launching a pioneering, fully-funded doctoral scholarship scheme designed to equip researchers with the skills that are crucial for success in the digital age and to meet the demands of the new industrial revolution powered by technology. The programme will include an integrated four-month placement, as well as training in the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), leadership and business engagement.

The PhD+ programme is open to both home and international students and covers all University tuition fees regardless of nationality plus a stipend for three and a half years at UK Research Council rates (circa £20k per annum).

 Details the project

Taste is a collection of many signals that are processed by your brain to produce a flavour profile. Some of these are highly desirable whilst others can be less palatable, but this often comes down to individual preferences. A key example of such a flavour is bitterness.

Chocolate is an inherently bitter food and this is currently balanced by the inclusion of various amounts of sugar in different products. However, the ability to selectively remove bitter compounds from chocolate would be a significant market development. For example, it would allow consumers to choose higher cocoa mass products with increased palatability. However, there is no current mechanism to selectively remove such bitter compounds from chocolate during manufacturing.

Taste is achieved in humans by specific molecules binding to a class of receptor proteins in taste buds. These detect the bitter molecules by capturing them and then relaying an intracellular signal that is interpreted as bitterness. The exquisite selectivity and affinity of these receptors could be used to capture them out of chocolate during production. We propose to use these to selectively capture and concentrate the bitter molecules.

This project combines expertise in polymer science, membrane protein biochemistry, and enzyme engineering to develop novel methodologies for the selective removal of bitter compounds during chocolate manufacturing while maintaining beneficial nutritional content. Specifically, you will express and purify membrane proteins, use polymers to capture membrane protein receptors in an active state and develop hydrogels to immobilise these receptors to form a functional device. Such interdisciplinary research has high potential to produce synergistic outcomes not possible with one field alone.

Supervisors: Prof. Alan Goddard, Dr Matthew Derry and Dr John Simms

Partner: Mondelez International

Programme length: 3.5 years

Prospective Start Date: 01 October 2025

Key words: Biochemistry, polymer science, food industry, receptors, biotechnology

Eligibility

Studentship funding is open to UK and international students.

International students will require a student visa to be able to study in the UK. Check this web page for further information. 

Academic requirements

The successful applicant should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, a First or Upper Second Class award in their Undergraduate Degree, and/or a Merit or Distinction in their Masters Degree, in relevant subjects.

Overseas qualifications will be considered but performance must be equivalent to the requirements stated above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain equivalence according to its own criteria.

We are seeking an applicant with a background in biological and/or chemical sciences who has an interest in interdisciplinary research to solve real world problems. Experience of protein expression and purification and/or polymer chemistry would be advantageous.

Proof of English Language Proficiency

Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate that they have met the following English Language requirement before enrolment.

Proof of English Language proficiency does not need to be submitted at the time of application, but does need to be provided in good time before the start of the programme.

We do not accept online/home versions of English tests. We accept IELTS (Academic) with an overall band score no lower than 6.5 (with no individual band less than 6.0). 

Applicants may be exempted from these English language test requirements if they have studied for a minimum period of one year in the UK and achieved at least a 2:2 within the last five years.

Please note that these are the minimum entry requirements, and you may not be shortlisted if other candidates can demonstrate higher academic achievement or English Language proficiency.

Contact information

For formal enquiries about this project contact Prof. Alan Goddard (a.goddard@aston.ac.uk)

Submitting an application

You can submit an application to be shortlisted for this PhD+ scholarship here.

If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk

Closing Date: 9th February [23.59 GMT] *

*This studentship may close early at the discretion of the supervisory team. Please submit your application at the earliest opportunity.