Royal Holloway, University of London, School of Biological Sciences PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Pin site infections are a major complication of external fixation of fractures, and bacterial biofilms are known to form on the pin surface.1 This project, in collaboration with Dr Shobana Dissanayeke (RHUL) and St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, will investigate bacterial biofilms that have been obtained from percutaneous pins used in orthopaedic fixation frames.

Biology of the invasive Chinese mitten crab in the river Thames

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof D Morritt

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

The Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is an invasive brachyuran crab species (one of the top 100 most invasive species) that is now well established in the River Thames and tributaries.

Cell cycle regulation in Arabidopsis

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof L Bogre

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Plant growth is tightly controlled by environmental factors. We investigate how these stress and growth stimulatory factors regulate plant growth and cell cycle.

Development of gene therapies for muscular dystrophies

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr L Popplewell

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

The activities in the Popplewell lab focus on the development of pre-clinical gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases, in particular muscular dystrophies based on gene replacement, endonuclease-mediated gene editing, antisense oligonucleotide (AO)-induced exon skipping and gene sliencing.

Evolutionary Theory: Exploring the role of intragenomic conflict in the evolution of molecular mechanisms

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr F Ubeda

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

I research how genes, individuals, and social structures can evolve making use of mathematical models.

Examining the interactions between plant-feeding insects and symbiotic fungi

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof A Gange

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

“Plants are not discrete entities, but instead are mergers of fungal cells with plant tissues”. This statement implies that every living plant has fungi living within the roots and shoots.

Flocking dynamics in birds : the role of personality and experience

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr S Portugal

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Many birds travel in flocks comprising many individuals. During flights, decisions have to be made about who leads and follows, and who is positioned where in the flock.

Genetics of stroke: Determining the underlying pathological reasons for stroke and comparing and contrasting those findings between Caucasian and South Asians.

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof P Sharma

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Stroke is the commonest cause of disability, second largest cause of dementia and the third biggest cause of death in the UK. However, by 2050 the World Health Organisation has estimated that 80% of the worlds’ burden of stroke will lie between India and China.

Investigation of the processes that generate, maintain, and threaten biological diversity

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr R Riesch

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Research in my group addresses one of the fundamental questions in evolutionary ecology.

Plant responses to stress, metabolites for health and fuel from cell walls.

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof A Devoto

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Projects are available in the following areas. Stress responses in crops and sustainable biomass production and processing. The project aims at elucidating several aspects of the control of plant defences and to identify environmentally friendly forms of plant protectants, leading to enhanced crop yields.

Point-of-care diagnosis of opportunistic fungal infections using innovative molecular biosensors.

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr J Tovar

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Human fungal infections have emerged as one of the most pressing global health problems in recent years.

Stimuli-responsive biopolymers for life science, materials and therapeutic applications

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr M Soloviev

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

This is a self-funded project, match-finding option may be available for qualifying candidates. Please include a detailed CV with any enquiries.

Therapeutic models for Spinal muscular atrophy

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Prof R Yáñez-Muñoz

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Our laboratory works on Gene Therapy in the Central Nervous System and Gene Repair, using novel viral vectors, gene targeting and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as core technologies.

Transcription factors mediating light input to the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Biological Sciences

Dr P Devlin

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

The circadian clock is tightly tied to the light environment. Transcriptional feedback loops are able to generate a self-sustaining rhythm of approximately 24 hours which impinges on almost every aspect of physiology in higher organisms.