Biochemistry PhD Research Projects PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Leeds

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

The Kwok Lab at the School of Biomedical Science invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J. Kwok

Design and Folding of beta barrel membrane proteins

Supervisors: Prof S E Radford, Prof D B Brockwell

The cell walls of Gram negative bacteria are packed with b-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs) whose function are essential for bacterial growth and virulence. Read more

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

Machine Learning and Molecular Modelling in Mass Spectrometry

Supervisors: Prof F. Sobott, Dr A Kalli, Dr H Wang

This PhD project will harness the power of computational modelling and machine learning (A.I.) to analyse data obtained by mass spectrometry experiments and predict structural characteristics of biomolecules and their interactions. Read more

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

Live cell imaging of epithelial cancer cell proliferation for therapy

Supervisors: Prof A Divan, Dr S Ponnambalam, Dr M A Harrison

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

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

The role of ubiquitin-modifying enzymes in angiogenesis

Supervisors: Dr S Ponnambalam, Dr M A Harrison

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

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

Epigenetics and Cancer: Determining how Mistakes in V(D)J Recombination Trigger Leukaemias and Lymphomas

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

V(D)J recombination is essential to produce an effective adaptive immune system but since the reaction involves breakage and rejoining of DNA, it is highly dangerous and errors have long been thought to lead to leukaemias and lymphomas. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Boyes

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

Supervisors: Dr T Nasim, Prof C Wright

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

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

Therapeutic resolution of coronavirus (COVID-19) diseases by natural products

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

Research Group: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Coronavirus now labelled as Covid-19 has become a global pandemic affecting around 200 countries. Currently neither any cure nor any vaccine for Covid-19 has been established. Read more

Supervisor: Dr T Nasim

Investigation of antagonism of multiple RGD-binding integrins as a therapeutic strategy in advanced head and neck cancer

Supervisor: Dr H Sheldrake

Research Group: Institute of Cancer Therapeutics

Background. The integrins are a family of transmembrane receptors which mediate cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesion, and signalling across the cell membrane involved in pathways controlling cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, cell survival and apoptosis. Read more

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

ERK5 MAPK signalling in Alzheimer’s disease

Supervisors: Dr J Muller, Dr S Kantamneni

Research Group: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Neurodegenerative diseases have devastating effects on individuals’ lives and our society, with no effective treatments available. Read more

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

Development of a personalized therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

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

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

Supervisor: Dr T Nasim

University of Leeds Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Filming photosynthesis: using molecular dynamics simulations and fluorescence experiments to assess the dynamics of light harvesting proteins

The plant protein Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) allows efficient absorption of solar energy and is essential for photosynthesis. Read more

Supervisors: Dr P.G. Adams, Dr A Kalli

28 June 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of Leeds Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Biophysics of photosynthesis and solar energy capture explored using advanced methods in nanoscience, electrophoresis and fluorescence microscopy

Research Group: School of Physics and Astronomy

The Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is a photo-active protein found in plants and is essential for efficient capture of solar energy. Read more

Supervisors: Dr P.G. Adams, Prof SD Evans

28 June 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Alpha-synuclein amyloid in Parkinson's disease: using Nanoinjection as a tool to study alpha-synuclein amyloid toxicity inside neurons

Supervisors: Dr E W Hewitt, Prof S E Radford, Dr P Actis

Intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Amyloid fibrils formed by the misfolding of alpha-synuclein are the principal component of Lewy Bodies. Read more

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

Control and inhibition of virus replication

Supervisor: Dr A.K Tuplin

The Tuplin laboratory utilises a range of cutting-edge approaches to investigate how arboviruses - specifically Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika viruses - control replication and translation of their genomes through interactions between RNA structures, host cell proteins and non-coding RNA, and the potential of such RNA elements/interactions as novel therapeutic targets. Read more

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

How does myosin 10 contribute to filopodia formation and stability?

Supervisors: Prof M Peckham, Dr D Tomlinson

How do cells make filopodia? Filopodia are thin protrusions that act as pathfinders in cell migration, helping cells to sense where to go, and pulling cells through the extracellular matrix, especially important in driving cancer cell metastasis. Read more

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

Using cryo-electron microscopy to study large protein complexes that mediate the female post-mating response

Supervisors: Dr J.J.B. Cockburn, Prof R E Isaac

In many animals, male seminal fluid alters female physiology and post-mating behaviour to ensure paternity of the offspring. However, how seminal fluid components elicit these post-mating responses is poorly understood. Read more

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

Engineering Developable Biopharmaceuticals

Supervisors: Prof D B Brockwell, Prof S E Radford

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

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

Exploring Synthetic Lethality Interactions through Targeting the SUMO Pathway for Therapeutic Insights

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

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Bassi

Disrupted SUMO signalling in epithelial cancers, implications for genome stability and response to therapy.

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

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Garvin

Structural and mechanistic studies of fibroblast growth factor receptor signalling

Supervisors: Prof A.L. Breeze, Prof F. Sobott

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

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

Investigation of host-virus interactions

Supervisors: Dr M Stacey, Dr J N Barr

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25 in the area of molecular virology. Read more

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

Seeing inside the brain of Alzheimer’s disease by cryoET

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

The aim of this PhD project is to determine the in situ 3D molecular structures associated with AD to understand disease mechanisms and molecular pathways that can lead to the rational design of a mechanism-based therapy. Read more

Supervisor: Dr R Frank

Employing molecular virology to investigate hepatitis E virus replication

Supervisors: Dr M.R. Herod, Prof M Harris

This project is available to self funded candidates only. The Herod lab has a broad interest in virus replication, with a particular interest in studying single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses important for human and animal health. Read more

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

Targeting protein acetylation to reduce microglia activation in neurodegenerative disorders

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

The School of Biomedical Sciences invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

Supervisor: Prof I Wood

Untangling the role of beta-1,3 glucan polymers in intercellular communication

Supervisor: Dr Y Benitez-Alfonso

Apply to join the Benitez-Alfonso team in their quest to dissect the mechanisms underpinning the function of beta-1,3 glucan polymers in plant growth and development. . Read more

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

Manipulation of neuroimmune responses and behaviour by infectious agents

Supervisors: Dr G Mcconkey, Dr S Clapcote

This project is available exclusively to self-funded students who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2023/24. The project focuses on how infectious agents modify the individuals that they infect and how neuroimmune responses to infection moderate behaviour changes in warm-blooded animals and humans. Read more

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

Uncovering the links between the environmental sensor, AHR, and the development of breast cancer

Supervisors: Dr C Gorrini, Dr A Zhuravleva

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2024/25. Read more

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

Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of intrinsic antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens

Supervisor: Prof A O'Neill

Antibiotics make possible the treatment and cure of life-threatening bacterial infections and have added over a decade to the average human lifespan. Read more

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

Mechanisms underlying the effects of activated protein C (APC) in cardiac muscle

Supervisors: Dr M Hussain, Dr T Nasim, Prof MR Boyett

Research Group: Chemistry and Biosciences

APC is an anticoagulant enzyme that also exerts antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic and a variety of other cytoprotective effects in different tissues, where the mechanism of action is thought to involve the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and a protease activated receptor (PAR). Read more

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