Plant Biology PhD Research Projects PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Queen’s University Belfast School of Biological Sciences

Modelling-4-Grass: Modelling climate change impacts on Grassland in N. Ireland

Expertise in data-based modelling is ever-more sought after in the field of life science research. Do you see yourself as one of these forefront modellers of the future?. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Williams

3 June 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

The University of Manchester Department of Materials

Alternative Materials and Processes for the Textile and Fashion Industry

The fashion and textile industries conduct some of the most polluting practices on the planet. Many initiatives are striving to positively impact the issues the industry faces, in line with climate targets and UN sustainable development goals. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Wood

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

University of Bradford Faculty of Life Sciences

Therapeutic resolution of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) by natural products

Research Group: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating cardiovascular disorder which, if left untreated, leads to heart failure and death. Read more

Supervisors: Dr T Nasim, Prof C Wright

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

University of Adelaide School of Chemical Engineering

Pharmaceutical process development, optimization and scale-up of plant-based cancer drugs

Project - We are pleased to announce an exciting PhD opportunity within our ground-breaking project dedicated to the optimization of extraction and purification processes of plant-derived molecules, with potential applications in cancer treatment as a collaborative effort with the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute. Read more

Supervisors: Dr LT Toronjo-Urquiza , Dr AKJ kumorkiewicz-jamro

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of Oxford Department of Biology

Unravelling the mechanisms behind plant stress sensing

Agricultural production and food security are severely threatened by the loss of arable land and climate change, with increasingly harsher droughts, floods, and heat waves reducing crop productivity by more than 50%. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Bolla, Dr EBG Baena-Gonzalez

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Leveraging plant biomechanics under hostile environments

Supervisory Team: Dr Siul Ruiz, Dr Sharif Ahmed, Dr James Le Houx, Prof Tiina Roose. Project description. The UK food-related activities contribute to a staggering quarter of a trillion pounds (>10% of UK GDP in 2022). Read more

Supervisor: Dr S Ruiz

31 August 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

MSc by Research: Signaling pathways controlling epidermal development in cereals

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

University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Exploring plants’ sensing capability with vibroacoustics

Supervisory Team. Dr Michal Kalkowski, Dr Giacomo Squicciarini. Project description. We invite applications for a PhD position in plant vibroacoustics. Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Kalkowski

31 August 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

MSc by Research: Molecular mechanisms underlying aphid effector virulence activity

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

Pests and diseases are a major threat to food security with losses ranging between 20-40%. Aphids are one of the most devastating insect pests, globally. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Bos

University of Liverpool Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology

Engineering more water-use efficient crops: functional genomics of CO2 fixation during Crassulacean acid metabolism

The world is getting hotter and drier due to climate change, and the human population is growing rapidly. Furthermore, it has been predicted that we will need to increase crop yields by 50 - 70 % by 2050 in order to feed the predicted 9 - 10 billion people. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Hartwell, Dr P Walley

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

The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Unlocking the potential of plant cellulose for the production of new materials and chemicals

Plant biomass, in the form of plant cell walls are the only renewable resource sufficiently abundant to make a meaningful contribution to decreasing CO. Read more

Supervisors: Prof S Turner, Dr J Pittman

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