PhD Studentship: Making drug out of sunlight and ‘thin air’

[Fully funded 4-year PhD CASE studentship with Inspiralis Limited, including payment of tuition fees, a stipend of £20,780 (2025/6 rate) per year, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year.] This PhD studentship at the University of East Anglia, in partnership with the John Innes Centre, offers an exciting opportunity to investigate the biosynthesis of sesquiterpene coumarins, a rare and medicinally valuable class of plant natural products. The project aims to test a novel hypothesis that these compounds are cyclised by enzymes related to oxidosqualene cyclases, rather than conventional sesquiterpene synthases, thus exploring new biochemical pathways in plant metabolism. The research will integrate organic chemistry, molecular and synthetic biology, and bioinformatics to identify and characterise these enzymes, trace their evolutionary origins, and unlock their potential for sustainable production of high-value compounds, including those with potential applications in cancer treatment. Students will gain hands-on experience in a wide array of scientific techniques, such as computational chemistry, microbiology workflows (cloning and mutagenesis), heterologous expression systems, analytical chemistry, natural product extraction, and structural elucidation using spectroscopic methods. The project is part of the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP), which provides a comprehensive 4-year PhD training, including a three-month professional internship placement (PIPS) to enhance professional development. The studentship is fully funded, covering tuition fees, a generous annual stipend of £20,780, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year. Applicants must have at least a UK equivalent Bachelors (Honours) 2:1 degree and meet English language requirements (IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). The start date is 1 October 2026, and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in February 2026. For further details on eligibility and application procedures, visit the NRPDTP website.