PhD Studentship: Understanding RNAi Application for the Control of Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle University of East Anglia in United Kingdom

[Full tuition fees paid directly to University of East Anglia, annual tax-free stipend (£20,780 for 2025/26) plus £2,500 per annum stipend enhancement, and a Research Training Support Grant for training, consumables, equipment, and conference attendance.]

This PhD studentship at the University of East Anglia offers an exciting opportunity to advance sustainable pest control in agriculture by investigating RNAi-based solutions for the cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB), a major pest of Brassica crops such as oilseed rape. The project is supervised by Dr Rachel Wells and is conducted in collaboration with CRODA, a global specialty chemical manufacturer, and the John Innes Centre (JIC). The research aims to understand the mechanisms and efficacy of RNA-based formulations for targeted pest control, addressing challenges such as variation in RNA efficiency, adjuvant formulation, application methodology, and environmental factors.

The student will join a collaborative research team in the Wells and Morris labs, gaining hands-on experience with captive CSFB colonies and benefiting from CRODA's expertise in application development. Training will be tailored to the student's background and interests, with key skills developed including experimental design, statistical analysis, entomology, plant husbandry, molecular biology, RNA-seq analysis, RNAi, formulation chemistry, and commercial product testing. A secondment with CRODA (minimum three months) provides valuable industry experience, with flexible placement arrangements.

This four-year studentship is funded by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award. Funding includes full tuition fees paid directly to the University of East Anglia, an annual tax-free stipend (£20,780 for 2025/26) plus a £2,500 per annum stipend enhancement, and a Research Training Support Grant for additional training, consumables, equipment, and conference attendance.

Applicants must hold at least a UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1 or a UK equivalence Masters degree. English language requirements are IELTS 6.5 overall and 6.0 in each component. The mode of study is full-time, with a start date of 1 October 2026. The application deadline is 4 May 2026. For more information and to apply, visit the University of East Anglia postgraduate research application portal.