University of East Anglia
1 week ago
PhD Studentship: A Single-Cell Atlas of the Euglena gracilis Cell Cycle University of East Anglia in United Kingdom
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Computer Science
Funding
Available
Deadline
Nov 30, 2026
Country
United Kingdom
University
University of East Anglia
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About this position
PhD Studentship: A Single-Cell Atlas of the Euglena gracilis Cell Cycle at the University of East Anglia, conducted with the Earlham Institute and the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership.
This project focuses on Euglena gracilis, an unusual single-celled protist with a highly distinctive biology. The research aims to build the first single-cell atlas of Euglena, profiling thousands of individual cells to understand how gene expression changes across the cell cycle and how those dynamics are affected by light and temperature. The work addresses fundamental questions about transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation in an organism that diverged early in eukaryotic evolution and uses mechanisms such as trans-splicing and base J.
The successful student will be trained across a full interdisciplinary pipeline: culturing and imaging Euglena, developing single-cell RNA-sequencing workflows, and reconstructing the cell cycle computationally. The project sits at the interface of biology and computation and is suitable for applicants who want to work at both the bench and the keyboard. There is also scope to develop your own hypotheses around pathway activation and regulation.
The project is hosted at the Earlham Institute, a BBSRC research centre of excellence in genomics, engineering, computational biology and AI, with access to a collaborative research environment and wider training through the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership.
This is a 4-year PhD studentship. Funding includes payment of tuition fees directly to the University, a stipend for living costs at the 2026/27 rate of £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year.
Applicants from the biological, computational or physical sciences are welcomed. The deadline stated is 30 November 2026, and applications should be made via the University of East Anglia postgraduate research application portal.
Funding details
Available
What's required
Applicants should be curious and quantitative, with interest in working across both experimental and computational aspects of the project. The post welcomes applicants from the biological, computational or physical sciences. The project is suited to graduates who want training in culturing and imaging Euglena, developing single-cell RNA-sequencing workflows, and computational cell-cycle reconstruction.
How to apply
Apply through the University of East Anglia postgraduate research application portal. Use the application link provided and submit before 30 November 2026. Review the project details carefully and prepare a research-focused application.
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