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 | |
Aryne-mediated metal-free C(sp3)-H bond functionalisation | Jones, Dr Christopher | Organic chemistry, Synthetic chemistry, Drug discovery, Sustainability, Materials | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Aryne-mediated synthesis of biologically active heterocycles |
Jones, Dr Christopher | Organic chemistry, Pharmaceutical chemistry, Synthetic chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 |
Computational modeling of photo-phenomena in condensed phase | Crespo-Otero, Dr Rachel | Biophysics, Computational chemistry, Materials science, Physical chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Computational modelling of protein dynamics in heart disease | Fornili, Dr Arianna | Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Computational chemistry, Pharmaceutical chemistry, Physical chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Computational simulations of molecular switches | Crespo-Otero, Dr Rachel | Biophysics, Computational chemistry, Materials science, Physical chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 molecular systems for laser technologies [PDF 258KB] | Crespo-Otero, Dr Rachel and Dimitrov, Dr Stoichko | Computational chemistry, Laser spectroscopy, Semiconductors, Photochemistry, Photophysics, Excited state dynamics, Method development/Programming | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Developing novel drugs to target Leishmaniasis | Wilkinson, Dr Shane | Leishmaniasis, Nitroreductase, DNA repair, Interstrand crosslink, Prodrugs | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
Developing novel synthetic strategies for the synthesis of metallic ceramics at lower temperature | Giordano, Dr Cristina | Materials chemistry, Nanotechnology, Physical chemistry, Synthesis | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Development and characterization of new energy materials | Abrahams, Dr Isaac | Electrochemistry, Inorganic chemistry Materials science | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Dissecting the role of MCE proteins in Cyanobacteria | Darbari, Dr Vidya | Biochemistry, Structural biology, X-ray crystallography, Cryo-electron microscopy | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
Diversity Oriented Synthesis via the Harnessing of Multiple Reactive Intermediates |
Jones, Dr Christopher | Ogranic chemistry, Synthetic chemistry, Drug discovery, Sustainability, Materials, Catalysis | Chemsitry | Chemistry |
Dynamic interactions between people in complex decision making contexts | Osman, Dr Magda | Psychology, Behaviour, Mental model, Decision making | Psychology | Psychology |
The ecology of flower colour choice in bees | Chittka, Prof Lars | Pollination, Insects, Learning, Sensory Systems, Cognition, Perception | Psychology | Psychology |
Electrocatalysts in Nanotubes: A Nanotechnology Computational and Experimental Approach | Di Tommaso, Dr Devis | Computational chemistry, Environmental chemistry, Materials science, Physical chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 |
Functional Nanostructures: Nanotechnology for Electronics, Sensing and Renewable Energy |
Palma, Dr Matteo | Nanoscience, Nanostructure assembly, Biosensing, Nanoelectronics, Microscopy, Devices | Chemistry | Chemistry |
The genomic basis of host-symbiont dependency | Henry, Dr Lee | Insects, Bioinformatics, Molecular biology, Evolution, Microbes | Biology | Biology |
G-Protein Coupled Receptors as therapeutic targets in drug discovery | Howell, Dr Lesley | Medicinal chemistry, Pharmaceutical chemistry, Synthetic chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
The Honey Bee: An Emerging Model for Epigenetics | Hurd, Dr Paul | Honey bee, Epigenetics, Genomics, Nutrition, Development | Biochemisry | Biochemistry |
How can animals regrow their heads? Anterior regeneration in the annelid Owenia | Martin-Duran, Dr Chema | Cell biology/development, Evolution, Molecular biology, Bioinformatics, Microscopy | Biology | Biology |
How do human cells ensure the accurate segregation of chromosomes? | Draviam, Prof Viji | Biochemistry, Cancer/Oncology, Cell biology/development, Genetics, Molecular biology | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
Identification of inhibitors of the pro-survival protein Mcl-1 | Howell, Dr Lesley | Medicinal chemistry, Pharmaceutical chemistry, Synthetic chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Improved computational methods for quantitative proteomics | Bessant, Prof Conrad | Analytical chemistry, Biochemistry, Applied mathematics, Bioinformatics, Computer science, Data analysis, Software engineering | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
Ion-Selective Organic Materials for Bioelectronic Applications | Nielsen, Dr Christian | Organic chemistry, Materials chemistry, Synthetic chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 |
Luminescent metal complexes for optoelectronics based on fluorinated organic ligands | Wyatt, Dr Peter | Organic Synthesis, Photonic Materials, Organofluorine, Luminescence, Optoelectronics | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Magnetic metal carbides and nitrides as alternative materials for bio-related applications | Giordano, Dr Cristina | Materials chemistry, Nanotechnology, Physical chemistry, Synthesis | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Materials design of photocatalysts for CO2 conversion to added-value chemicals [PDF 151KB] |
Crespo-Otero, Dr Rachel and Di Tommaso, Dr Devis | Computational chemistry, Environmental chemistry, Ab initio molecular dynamics, Statistical thermodynamics, Excited state dynamics, Method development/Programming | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Mechanisms that drive aneuploidy in cancers | Draviam, Prof Viji | Biochemistry, Cancer/Oncology, Cell Biology/Development, Data Analysis | Biochemistry | Biochemistry |
Metal catalysed activation of dioxygen (air) for selective substrate oxidation | Sheriff, Dr Tippu | Selective Oxidation, Dioxygen, Hydrogen Peroxide, Catalysis, Green Chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Modelling of hybrid nanostructures for nanoelectronics and renewable energy applications | Crespo-Otero, Dr Rachel and Palma, Dr Matteo | Biophysics, Computational chemistry, Materials science, Physical chemistry, | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 |
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 microbial quality testing for drinking water device | Zarbakhsh, Dr Ali | Environmental chemistry, Materials science, Physical chemistry | Chemistry | Chemistry |
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 the Molecular Basis of 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 |
Self-assembled block copolymers as drug delivery systems for skin treatments | Resmini, Prof Marina | Nanomaterials, Drug delivery, Self-assembled nanoparticles, Dermal delivery | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Sensory integration in the brain for spatial navigation | Chen, Dr Guifen | Neuroscience, Episodic memory, Spatial navigation, Virtual reality | Psychology | Psychology |
Social dynamic decision making | Osman, Dr Magda | Psychology, Neuroscience | 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 |
Synthesis of chiral heterocycles through Pd-catalysed allylic alkylation processes |
Arseniyadis, Dr Stellios | Organic chemistry, Synthetic tools, Catalysis | Chemistry | Chemistry |
Arseniyadis, Dr Stellios | Organic chemistry, Synthesis, DNA-based catalysis | Chemistry | Chemistry | |
Uncovering 3D genome architecture in annelid worms | Martin-Duran, Dr Chema | Bioinformatics, Cell biology/development, Evolution, Invertebrates, Genomics, Statistics, Molecular biology | Biology | Biology |