** Projects now available to apply to for fully-funded 4 year PhD studentships starting in Sept 2025 **
Application deadline: Midnight (23:59pm GMT), Wednesday 11 December 2024
What research areas does this theme include?
This theme encompasses:
- most cellular and in vitro biology including microbiological systems and all aspects of gene function and regulation, protein structure, cytoskeleton and membrane systems, and cellular transport. This theme also includes much of the synthetic biology and engineering biology areas.
What *CASE, *AP and *JD mean
*CASE: These are CASE DTP studentships. As part of the programme, you will be required to undertake a placement with the CASE partner for a minimum of 3 months.
*AP: These are Standard DTP studentships with an associate partner where you will be required to spend time with each of the partners. You will be asked to apply to one of the partners (as listed in the 'Host Institution' column), but this is just for administration purposes. You will then be registered for your postgraduate studies at one of the partner universities of the lead supervisors. Your registered university will be confirmed by the DTP following the interview stage of the selection process.
*JD: This project is in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE) and subject to a joint degree award. Successful applicants will be registered at both these institutions, and graduates will be awarded a joint degree from these two institutions upon successful completion of the PhD programme.
What does host institution mean?
The 'host institution' is where you will be mainly based throughout your PhD.
Of note, some projects may involve fieldwork or time away from the listed host institution for e.g. time spent with others within your supervisory team, collaborating university, collaborator or on a CASE/PIPS placement.
Meet our supervisors: To help you decide on your PhD project, you can gain a detailed insight into the working style of the main supervisor and the research environment you will be part of, by visiting our meet our supervisors webpage or ‘clicking’ on the supervisor listed in bold below. You can also find out more about the second supervisor by ‘clicking’ on their name below.
How to apply: You apply to the listed ‘ host institution’ (unless otherwise indicated in the table below) via the ‘apply now’ button. You will then be taken to the institutional application forms with guidance and further information on submitting an application.
| PROJECT TITLE |
MAIN SUPERVISORY TEAM Main supervisor (bold) + second supervisor – Or equivalents |
HOST INSTITUTION | KEYWORDS |
| ADDomer: Thermostable synthetic self- assembling multiepitope virus-like particle for next-generation vaccines *CASE | University of Bristol | Infectious disease, Next-generation vaccines, Synthetic biology, Cryo-electron microscopy, Bench-to-bedside | |
| Adipose tissue and skeletal muscle crosstalk in ageing: Using proteomics to identify targets to improve skeletal muscle health. | University of Exeter (St Luke’s) | Skeletal muscle, Adipose tissue, Physiology, Ageing, Proteomics | |
| Autoimmunity gone wild: understanding how environmental stress modifies genetic risk in the development of autoimmune disease across the life course in a novel wildlife model | University of Exeter (Penryn) | Environmental stress, Immunology, Next-generation sequencing, Wildlife health and disease, MHC | |
| Building new nano-biosensors for healthcare: Linking biology to nanoscience through synthetic biology and computational modelling | Cardiff University | Synthetic biology, Nanobodies, Nanoscience, Biosensor, Protein engineering, Modelling | |
| CircadiAgeing: Clock excitability, circadian rhythms and healthy ageing | University of Bristol | Circadian rhythms, Clock neuron excitability, Ion channel activity and modelling, Model systems: fly and mouse, patch and dynamic clamp | |
| Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance with Covalent Macrocycle Libraries | University of Bath | Antimicrobial Resistance, Peptide Drug Discovery, Chemical Biology, Microbiology, Covalent Inhibition | |
| Coordination Between Actin and Microtubule Motors During Endocytosis | University of Bristol | Cytoskeleton, Molecular motors, Cryo-EM, Endocytosis, Intracellular transport | |
| CRYCT – A peptide magnetosensor to explain and engineer magnetic field sensitivity in biological systems *CASE | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Biophysics, Quantum biology, Peptides, Spectroscopy, Protein interactions | |
| Decoding signal computation in pluripotent stem cells | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Developmental biology, Stem cell biology, Bioimaging, Metagenomics, Mathematical biology | |
| Defining the neuronal autophagosome assembly site: spatiotemporal control ATG9A trafficking in human iPSC-derived neurons | University of Bristol | Autophagy, Cell Biology, ATG9A, Neurons, iPSC | |
| Defining the role of astrocytes in neuronal health and the implications of neuroinflammation *AP *JD | University of Bristol (Apply here) / University of the West of England | Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Inflammation, Stem cell, Astrocytes | |
| Determining how antimicrobial polyamines kill bacterial pathogens | University of Bristol | Microbiology, Antibiotics, /mechanism of action, Omics, Data analysis | |
| Developing an axenic media to grow the currently uncultivable Mycobacterium leprae | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Microbiology, Metabolism, Systems biology, Evolution, Biochemistry | |
| Developing methods for differential mRNA secondary structure analysis | Cardiff University | Gene regulation, Computational biology, Statistics | |
| Development of fluxomics in Coxiella Burnetii to identify the metabolic requirements for its intracellular survival and replication in the host. *CASE | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Microbiology, Host-pathogen interaction, Biochemistry, Metabolism, Systems biology | |
| Dynamic subcellular analysis of novel integrative biomaterials | University of Bath | Biomaterials, Peptides, Microlaser cell tracking, Correlative multimodal Imaging, Volume EM | |
| Electrifying Redox Enzymes for Next-Generation Biotransformations: Harnessing Light and Nanotechnology | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Redox enzymes, Plasmonic nanoparticles, Electron transfer mechanisms, Optoplasmonic sensors, Synthetic biology | |
| Elucidating the role of DNA modifications in neurons | University of Bristol | Epigenetics, Neuroscience, DNA sequencing, Biological interactions, Genomics | |
| Endocytic profiling tools for complex in vitro 3D cell models to improve nanotherapeutic delivery. | Cardiff University | Cell biology, Endocytosis, Drug delivery, Multicellular models, Microscopy | |
| Engineering minimal and cargo-activated protein transport machines | University of Bristol | Biodesign, Motor protein, Protein design, Engineering biology, Cell biology | |
| Epigenetics of the brain in healthy ageing | University of Exeter (St Luke’s) | Epigenetics, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Computational and mathematical modelling, Cell models | |
| Establishing Thermus thermophilus as a biotechnology platform for biocatalysis | Cardiff University | Synthetic biology, Structural biology, Microbiology, Enzymology, Chemistry | |
| Evolutionary mechanisms underlying differences in the innate immune response to infection | University of Exeter (Penryn) | Innate immunity, Host-pathogen interactions, Molecular evolution, Phylogenetic modelling, Genetics | |
| Exploring and Exploiting Enzyme Catalysed Reactions from Polyketide Biosynthetic Pathways. | University of Bristol | Biocatalysis, Structural biology, Enzyme mechanisms, Chemical synthesis, Biosynthesis | |
| Exploring the cryptic virulence factors of the tick-borne pathogen, Anaplasma, and their roles in intracellular infection | University of Bristol | Protein biochemistry, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Host-pathogen interactions, Structural biology | |
| Functional analysis of novel transcriptional regulators in plant stem cell gene regulatory networks | Cardiff University | Plant development, Transcriptional regulation, Stem cells, Molecular genetics, Bioinformatics | |
| Genes and lifestyle factors influencing lifelong health | University of Bath | Developmental biology, Epigenetics, Energy homeostasis, Healthy ageing, Physiology | |
| How does the cellular environment affect opioid receptor signalling? | University of Bath | Opioids, GPCRs, Molecular dynamics, Neuroscience, Addiction | |
| How to make an eye – Mechanics of optic cup formation across species | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Development, Organ development, Biophysics, Mechanics, High-resolution microscopy | |
| Investigating novel interactions of the Merlin gene in cell behaviour. *AP | University of Exeter (Streatham) (Apply here) / University of Plymouth | Biological interactions, Merlin tumour suppressor, Genetics and function, Drosophila model, Mouse Model | |
| Investigating regulation of lysosomal proteolysis by Kunitz domain proteins and their role in healthy ageing. | Cardiff University | Kunitz-domain, Proteases, Amyloid, Alzheimer, Ageing | |
| Investigating the antilypolytic and hypoglycaemic effect of exogenous ketones in humans. | University of Exeter (St Luke’s) | Physiology, Metabolism, Nutrition, Skeletal muscle, Adipose tissue | |
| Investigating the efficacy of natural compounds on bacterial biofilm formation in the mouse replacement model, Galleria mellonella *AP | University of Exeter (Streatham) (Apply here) / University of the West of England | Infection, Drug discovery, Galleria, Microbiology, Genetics | |
| Investigating the structure, function and dynamics of the P2X7 receptor ballast domain | Cardiff University | Ion channel, Molecular dynamics, Protein expression, Mutagenesis, Cell signalling | |
| Maintaining human lung – the role of fibroblasts and lipids in alveolar regeneration. | Cardiff University | Lipid biology, Cell imaging, Epigenetics, Biophysics, Data Science | |
| Mechanism of free fatty acid protection against SARS-CoV-2 viral replication | University of Bristol | SARS-CoV-2, Virus cell biology, Correlative imaging, In situ structural cell biology, Membrane remodelling | |
| Mechanisms and functions of lysosome positioning | University of Bristol | Lysosomes, Cytoskeleton, Molecular motors, mTORC1 | |
| Mechanisms of mechanosensation and membrane tension modulation in red blood cell development *AP *JD | University of Bristol (Apply here) / University of the West of England | Red blood cell, Erythropoiesis, Mechanosensor, Membrane tension, Cell biology | |
| Navigating Risky Sequence Space: The Role of Codon Usage and Immunostimulatory Sequence Motifs within Influenza Genomes | University of Bristol | Virology, Evolution, Influenza, RNA, Immunology | |
| Novel targets for overcoming antimicrobial resistance and tolerance: multikinase network signalling in Burkholderia pseudomallei | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Microbiology, Antibiotic resistance, Antimicrobial resistance, Biochemistry, Molecular biology | |
| Oiling the wheels of the lipid economy: discovering mechanisms for lipid trading through membrane contact sites in plants and animals | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Membrane contact sites, Lipidomics, Cell biology, Microscopy, Live-cell imaging | |
| Peroxisome-organelle interplay under cellular stress conditions | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Molecular cell biology, Organelle biology, Protein biochemistry, Biomedicine | |
| Programming cyanobacterial motility and growth to engineer living materials *CASE | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Cyanobacteria, Biophysics, Living materials, Motility, Biotechnology | |
| Project title: Using molecular simulation, patch-clamp electrophysiology, and artificial intelligence to dissect the underpinning rules of lipid binding to human potassium channels | University of Bristol | Ion channels, Lipid, Molecular modelling, Artifical intelligence, Electrophysiology | |
| Rational cell design using genome-scale mathematical models and machine learning | University of Bristol | Whole-cell models, Metabolic engineering, AI, Machine learning, E. coli | |
| Reconstructing ancestral animal cell types by a single cell analysis and comparative genomic approach | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Stem cells, Single cell transcriptomics, Evolution, Systems biology, Bioinformatics | |
| Spindle orientation in the developing fly embryo: a joint mathematical-experimental approach | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Drosophila development, Spindle orientation, Mathematical modelling, Computer simulation, Image analysis | |
| Switching on zebrafish muscle: Molecular mechanism of contraction | University of Bristol | Regulation, Muscle, Zebrafish, Structural biology, Machine learning (AI) | |
| The molecular basis of regulating branched microtubule nucleation | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Cell division, Mitosis, Microtubule, Cryo-EM, Structural biology | |
| Tracing and shaping the evolutionary paths of engineered biology | University of Bristol | Evolution, Synthetic biology, Nanopore sequencing, Gene regulation, Genome engineering | |
| Understanding the dynamics of NFkappaB complex formation using combined in situ and in silico approaches. | Cardiff University | Transcription factors, Biomolecular interactions, Bioimaging, Protein engineering, Molecular dynamics | |
| Unlocking the molecular mechanisms governing stem cell dormancy | University of Exeter (Streatham) | Stem cells, Ribosomes, FIB-SEM, CryoEM, Tomography |