Molecular Biology PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Leicester

Supervisors: Dr Y Markaki, Prof J Schwabe, Dr JH Hodgkinson

The 46th chromosome in XX female mammals, the second X, has to be switched off. That way females equalize gene dosage of X-linked genes with XY males. Read more

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

Epigenetics of early human development: From molecular mechanisms to regenerative medicine

Supervisors: Dr Y Markaki, Dr T Schalch

Ever wondered how nature maintains balance of gene expression between sex chromosomes? Well, the 46th chromosome of XX females, the second X, has to be switched off. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Molecular dissection of horizontal gene transfer mechanisms in mycobacteria

Supervisors: Dr A Koyamangalath Vadakkepat , Prof J Schwabe

A fully funded PhD position is available within the lab of Dr Abhinav KV at Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology (LISCB), University of Leicester, UK to carry out structural studies on large macromolecular machines that undertake horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in mycobacteria. Read more

29 April 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Join Our Quest to Unravel the Secrets of Eukaryotic Genomes!

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

We're on the lookout for passionate PhD students who are eager to delve deep into the mysteries of our DNA. Our quest? To understand the subtle changes that determine how our genes function, both in sickness and in health. Read more

Supervisor: Dr T Schalch

Understanding the link between fibrosis, inflammation, and breast cancer initiation

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

Understanding the fundamental molecular events that result in tumour initiation is critical to the prevention and treatment of human cancers. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Switzer

Cancer biology: identification of new treatment options for EML4-ALK driven lung cancer through understanding mechanisms of cell division and migration.

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

Lung cancer is the largest cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK and worldwide. While little progress has been made in long-term survival rates, we now have a good understanding of the genetic drivers raising the prospect of earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments. Read more

Supervisor: Prof A Fry

Structural investigation of oncogenic splicing factors

Supervisors: Dr C Dominguez, Prof I Eperon, Prof A Hudson

More than 90% of human genes can and do express multiple proteins. This is achieved by a process called alternative RNA splicing, which is an essential step in gene expression in mammals. Read more

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

Understanding gene regulation by HDAC1 complexes in development and cancer

Supervisor: Prof S Cowley

Packaging DNA into nucleosomes helps protect the long fragile genomes of eukaryotic species. However, in doing so it becomes an ever-present physical barrier to the machinery required for its replication, repair and transcription. Read more

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

Understanding centrosome assembly in healthy and cancerous tissue with imaging

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

This is an opportunity for a scientist to join the lab of Dr Robert Mahen in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the University of Leicester. Read more

Supervisor: Dr R Mahen

Chemical energy conversion in biology studied using advanced spectroscopic and structural tools

Supervisors: Dr PA Ash, Dr H Kwon

Redox properties of metal-containing active sites are critically important to many biocatalytic processes. one third of all proteins contain a redox-active metal, and ca 22% of submissions to the Protein Data Bank contain a transition metal. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Natural products in bacterial physiology and chemical interaction

Microbial natural products have diverse chemical structures and bioactivities, which range from cell-cell signalling, nutrient acquisition, antifungal and antibacterial activity to stress resistance (1). Read more

Supervisors: Dr C Jenul, Prof D Jones

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Leicester Department of Genetics and Genome Biology

Short and long-term genetic and behavioural consequences of traumatic brain injury in fruit flies

General background . How many fingers am I holding up? What day of the week is it? Follow my finger? These three questions are designed to test your sensory, memory and motor neural abilities following an accident; all three systems are affected by a severe deceleration of your brain. Read more

Supervisors: Dr B Warren, Dr E Rosato, Dr R Feuda

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Last chance to apply

Chemical energy conversion in biology studied using advanced spectroscopic and structural tools

22 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Graduate Teaching Assistantship. This is a Graduate Training Assistantship (GTA), which means that you will be required to do some teaching, particularly lab demonstrating, as part of your training. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Ash

Evaluating the impact of genotoxic aldehyde stress in premature ageing

Supervisors: Dr R Hopkinson, Dr K Tanaka

Aldehydes are highly reactive chemicals that are common pollutants and human metabolites. However, the vast majority of aldehydes’ biological functions are unknown. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Revealing Reactivity in Cancer-Associated Heme Proteins: Novel Time-Resolved Structural Approaches

Supervisors: Dr HK Kwon, Dr P A Ash

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a heme-containing enzyme involved in the degradation of tryptophan to kynurenine. Cancer cells upregulate IDO1 to escape normal immune responses and, in many cases, a high expression of IDO1 is connected to poor prognosis. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Structural and functional characterisation of MALT1 ubiquitination to aid in the development of novel anti-cancer therapies

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

Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) is a family of transcription factors that play a crucial role in regulating various cellular processes; primarily related to immune responses, inflammation, and cell survival. Read more

Supervisor: Dr G Hall

Structural and functional analysis of the protein complexes which regulate cell fate decisions to identify novel cancer therapies

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

Whether a cell dies or not has profound consequences on health and disease. In healthy tissue, cells that acquire high levels of genetic damage are safely removed via a process of programmed cell death. Read more

Supervisor: Dr JF Fox

Transcriptional kinases in cancer and developmental disorders

Supervisor: Dr MT Tellier

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are protein kinases performing essential functions in regulation of cell cycle and transcription. Read more

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

University of Leicester Department of Respiratory Sciences

Molecular level understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved to survive and replicate inside macrophages. The project will investigate the molecular mechanisms underpinning adaptation to this specialised intracellular niche. Read more

Supervisors: Dr H O'Hare, Dr N Garton

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

How do RNA-binding proteins control splice site selection? A multi-disciplinary approach

Supervisors: Prof I Eperon, Prof A Hudson, Dr C Dominguez

Almost every protein-coding gene in vertebrates can and does express multiple proteins. This is achieved primarily by RNA splicing, which is an essential step in gene expression in mammals and generates incredible diversity. Read more

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

Targeting senescence to ameliorate ageing and treat cancer and other age-related diseases

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

Ageing is a biological process that affects all humans. Despite the scientific advances of the past decades, the mechanisms that lead to ageing are not fully understood. Read more

Supervisor: Prof S Macip

Nuclear and transcriptional dysregulations during cellular senescence

Supervisors: Dr MT Tellier, Dr Y Markaki

Cellular senescence, which is characterised by a proliferation arrest, is a driver of ageing (1). Several stresses can induce cellular senescence, including persistent DNA damage, telomere dysfunction, and oncogene activation. Read more

23 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Obtaining an integrated understanding of oncogenic RAS signalling

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

The RAS family of small GTPases act as signalling hubs regulating cell proliferation and differentiation. The physiological importance of RAS signalling is evident as about 25% of all human cancers harbour mutations in ras genes, where kras is most frequently mutated (about 18%) (COSMIC, v94). Read more

Supervisor: Dr K Tanaka

Last chance to apply

‘Payload-Releasing Electrophiles’ – a new disease-selective delivery strategy for diagnostics and therapeutics

Supervisors: Dr R Hopkinson, Dr K Tanaka

Graduate Teaching Assistantship. This is a Graduate Training Assistantship (GTA), which means that you will be required to do some teaching, particularly lab demonstrating, as part of your training. Read more

22 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)