PhD projects
The following list contains details of available PhD projects within the School. Please note that these projects are currently unfunded. Applicants are required to have obtained or intend to apply for external funding. See our fees and funding page for information on sources of funding for PhD studies. Applications from candidates intending to self-fund their PhD are also accepted – please visit our self-funding students page for relevant information. Our directly funded PhD opportunities are advertised on our postgraduate research studentships page.
Search our current PhD projects by keyword or supervisor, or filter by research department. Once you have found a PhD project you would like to apply for you should express your interest, usually via email, with the supervisor before you make a formal application. Please refer to our application process for further details.
Other projects may also be possible and should be discussed with a prospective supervisor. The research themes of the School can be found on our research pages and research interests of individual members of staff can be browsed on their personal pages.
| Project | Supervisor | Keywords | hide Departments | Departments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nichols, Prof Richard | Adaptation, Evolution, Environmental change, Genomics, Endangered species, Conservation, Mathematical modelling, Statistics | Biology | Biology | |
| Centromere inheritance in S. pombe and beyond | Subramanian, Dr Lakxmi | Biochemistry, Cell biology/development, Evolution, Genetics, Microbiology, Molecular biology | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Cognition in insects | Chittka, Prof Lars | Counting, Intelligence, Tool use, Planning, Metacognition, Emotion, Bees | Psychology | Psychology |
| Comparative Cognition | Versace, Dr Elisabetta | Animal/Artificial intelligence, Evolution, Cognition, Comparative psychology | Psychology | Psychology |
| Comparative physiology and evolution of neuropeptide signalling | Elphick, Prof Maurice | Neurobiology, Evolution, Echinoderms, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Transcriptomics, Peptidomics, Molecular histology | Biology | Biology |
| Contextual information in adaptation | Mareschal, Dr Isabelle | Neuroscience | Psychology | Psychology |
| The contradictory functions of carotenoid-based light-harvesters: Understanding energy harvesting and dissipation in the Fucoxanthin-Chlorophyll Protein (FCP) | Duffy, Dr Christopher | Biophysics, Applied mathematics, Computational chemistry, Photosynthesis, Structural biology, Quantum dynamics | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Wurm, Dr Yannick | Genomics, Data science, Machine learning, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Software engineering | Biology | Biology | |
| Main, Dr Ewan | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural biology, Type III Secretion System, Antibiotic resistance | Biochemistry | Biochemistry | |
| Developing novel drugs to target Chagas disease | Wilkinson, Dr Shane | Chagas disease, Trypanosoma, Nitroreductase, DNA repair, Interstrand crosslink, Prodrugs | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Developing prodrugs to target neglected tropical diseases | Wilkinson, Dr Shane | Chagas disease, Trypanosoma, Nitroreductase, DNA repair, Interstrand crosslink, Prodrugs | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Developing novel drugs to target Leishmaniasis | Wilkinson, Dr Shane | Leishmaniasis, Nitroreductase, DNA repair, Interstrand crosslink, Prodrugs | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Dissecting the role of MCE proteins in Cyanobacteria | Darbari, Dr Vidya | Biochemistry, Structural biology, X-ray crystallography, Cryo-electron microscopy | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| The ecology of flower colour choice in bees | Chittka, Prof Lars | Pollination, Insects, Learning, Sensory Systems, Cognition, Perception | Psychology | Psychology |
| Exploring the impact of plant genome size on community structure dependent on soils and underlying geology | Leitch, Prof Andrew | Botany/Plant science, Cell biology/development, Ecology, Conservation, Genetics | Biology | Biology |
| Evolutionary genomics in ants | Wurm, Dr Yannick | Genetics, Social evolution, Next generation sequencing, Bioinformatics | Biology | Biology |
| The evolution of immunity in species exposed to invading pathogens | Knell, Dr Rob | Ecology, Conservation, Evolution, Parasitology, Immunity | Biology | Biology |
| The genomic basis of host-symbiont dependency | Henry, Dr Lee | Insects, Bioinformatics, Molecular biology, Evolution, Microbes | Biology | Biology |
| The Honey Bee: An Emerging Model for Epigenetics | Hurd, Dr Paul | Honey bee, Epigenetics, Genomics, Nutrition, Development | Biochemisry | Biochemistry |
| How do human cells ensure the accurate segregation of chromosomes? | Draviam, Prof Viji | Biochemistry, Cancer/Oncology, Cell biology/development, Genetics, Molecular biology | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Improved computational methods for quantitative proteomics | Bessant, Prof Conrad | Analytical chemistry, Biochemistry, Applied mathematics, Bioinformatics, Computer science, Data analysis, Software engineering | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Integrating fossils and genomes to elucidate the evolutionary history of species through time | Dos Reis Barros, Dr Mario | Evolutionary biology, Genomics, Phylogenetics, Palaeontology, Molecular clock, Bayesian analysis, Fossil record | Biology | Biology |
| Loneliness and its effects on vision and decision making | Mareschal, Dr Isabelle | Psychology, Mental health, Cognitive psychology | Psychology | Psychology |
| Mechanisms that drive aneuploidy in cancers | Draviam, Prof Viji | Biochemistry, Cancer/Oncology, Cell Biology/Development, Data Analysis | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| Modelling the insect brain | Chittka, Prof Lars | Neuroscience, Computational neuroscience, Neural networks, Artificial intelligence | Pscyhology | Psychology |
| Molecular adaptations underpinning dietary specialisations in wild vertebrates | Rossiter, Prof Stephen | Evolution, Genetics, Zoology, Diet, Mammals, Birds | Biology | Biology |
| Wurm, Dr Yannick | Ecology, Ecosystems, Molecular diagnostics, Pollination, Crop production | Biology | Biology | |
| Molecular genetics of psychiatric disease | Brennan, Prof Caroline | Bioinformatics, genes, psychiatric disease, Zebrafish | Psychology | Psychology |
| Neuronal basis of cross-modal sensory integration for navigation | Chen, Dr Guifen | Neural activity, Virtual reality, VR, Spatial cognition, Spatial Navigation, Neurobiology | Psychology | Psychology |
| Neural dynamics of learning from feedback: tracking and affecting subjective feedback evaluation | Di Bernardi Luft, Dr Caroline | Electrophysiology, Signal processing, Artificial intelligence, Brain stimulation | Psychology | Psychology |
| Neuronal control of appetite and neurodegeneration | Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration, Cognition, Behaviour, Zebrafish | Psychology | Psychology | |
| New tools for conservation: dissecting the relative contribution of genetic and epigenetic changes to adaptive evolution | Eizaguirre, Dr Christophe | Ecology and conservation, Evolution, Genetics | Biology | Biology |
| Protein Misfolding and Assembly of Amyloid-beta and lipid membrane interactions in Alzheimer’s Disease | Viles, Dr John | Biochemistry, Neurodegeneration, Protein mis-folding | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
| The role of beneficial microbes in insect adaptation | Henry, Dr Lee | Evolution, Bioinformatics, Molecular biology, Statistics | Biology | Biology |
| Sea turtles' resilience to climate change | Eizaguirre, Dr Christophe | Ecology and conservation, Evolution, Genetics, Marine biology | Biology | Biology |
| Sensory integration in the brain for spatial navigation | Chen, Dr Guifen | Neuroscience, Episodic memory, Spatial navigation, Virtual reality | Psychology | Psychology |
| Social learning in bees - how do pollinators learn from each other? | Chittka, Prof Lars | Cognition, Communication, Consciousness, Memory, Insects, Social organisation | Psychology | Psychology |
| Social Groups, Resilience, Health and Well-being | Jones, Dr Janelle | Social groups, Identity, Mental health, Stress, Resilience, Well-being, Psychophysics, Psychoneuroendocrinology | Psychology | Psychology |
| Spatial orientation of bees in the field and the laboratory | Chittka, Prof Lars | Radar tracking, Cognitive maps, Learning, Memory, Landmarks, Navigation | Psychology | Psychology |
| Uncovering 3D genome architecture in annelid worms | Martin-Duran, Dr Chema | Bioinformatics, Cell biology/development, Evolution, Invertebrates, Genomics, Statistics, Molecular biology | Biology | Biology |