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University of Exeter

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PhD Studentship: Discovery and functional testing of Alzheimer’s disease risk–resilience pathways in human iPSC microglia University of Exeter in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Available

Deadline

Oct 21, 2026

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Country

United Kingdom

University

University of Exeter

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Keywords

Computer Science
Biology
Computational Biology
Functional Genomics
Alzheimer's Disease
Neuropsychology
Medical Science
Neurodegenerative Disease
Ipsc
Statistics
Microglia

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About this position

[Four-year MRC GW4 BioMed3 studentship with UK tuition fees, stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£21,805 per annum for 2026/27, updated each year), and additional research training/support funding of up to £5,000 per annum.]

The University of Exeter is advertising a PhD Studentship within the GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme on discovery and functional testing of Alzheimer’s disease risk–resilience pathways in human iPSC microglia.

This four-year studentship forms part of a wider cohort of up to 18 MRC-funded projects across biomedical disciplines, with a start date in October 2027. The project is designed for students interested in Alzheimer’s disease, microglial biology, human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, and computational pathway discovery. The research focuses on the TREM2 signalling axis, comparing disease-risk and protective variants such as TREM2 R47H and PLCG2 P522R to identify pathways associated with vulnerability or resilience in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

The successful student will use computational approaches to identify molecular pathways that show opposite patterns in risk- and protective-variant human iPSC-derived microglia, then prioritize candidate genes for perturbation experiments. The downstream functional work will test whether altering these genes changes microglial effects on neuronal functions relevant to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. This makes the project especially suitable for applicants who want to combine bioinformatics/computational analysis with experimental neurobiology.

Funding is provided through the GW4 BioMed3 MRC Doctoral Landscape Programme and includes UK/Home tuition fees, a Doctoral Stipend matching the UK Research Council National Minimum (£21,805 per annum for 2026/27, updated yearly), and additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per year. The advert states that the studentship is open to UK and international students, although the fee coverage is specified as UK/Home tuition fees.

Applications are due on 21 October 2026. As this project competes alongside other GW4 BioMed3 studentships, applicants should review the funding page carefully and follow the University of Exeter application instructions via the official link.

Funding details

Available

What's required

Open to UK and international students. The project is part of a competitive set of up to 18 MRC-funded GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme studentships. No specific degree classification, language test, or technical prerequisite is stated in the advert, but the research will suit applicants interested in computational methods, pathway analysis, human iPSC-derived microglia, and functional testing of gene candidates in Alzheimer’s disease.

How to apply

Apply through the University of Exeter funding/application page using the provided link. Submit before the deadline of 21 October 2026. The project competes with other GW4 BioMed3 studentships, so applicants should follow any programme-specific instructions on the application page.

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