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Mark Banfield

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PhD Studentship: How to build an immune receptor: AI-led protein design for engineering disease resistance University of East Anglia in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Biochemistry

Funding

Available

Deadline

Nov 30, 2026

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Country

United Kingdom

University

University of East Anglia

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Keywords

Biochemistry
Computer Science
Molecular Biology
Environmental Science
Agriculture
Biomedical Engineering
Biotechnology
Biology
Structural Biology
Plant Pathology
Host-pathogen Interaction
Disease Resistance

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About this position

[Fully funded 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD studentship including tuition fees paid directly to the university, a stipend of £21,805 (2026/27 rate), and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year.]

PhD studentship at the University of East Anglia on AI-led protein design for engineering disease resistance in plants.

This project sits within the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP) and focuses on understanding and engineering plant immune receptors. The research will investigate how recognition-switch-execute modules can be computationally built and combined to recognise pathogen molecules, activate receptors, and trigger cellular responses that could prevent disease. The work is highly interdisciplinary and spans computational protein design, molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, in planta assays, and plant pathology.

The studentship is supervised by Professor Mark Banfield and is based in a stimulating research environment with access to world-class facilities and opportunities to collaborate with national and international partners. The project is especially relevant to plant disease control, sustainable agriculture, and food security under climate change, with the longer-term goal of developing new-to-nature immune receptors that can help protect crops and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

The NRPDTP studentship is fully funded for 4 years. Funding includes payment of tuition fees, a stipend for living costs at the 2026/27 rate of £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year. Students also complete a three-month professional internship placement (PIPS) and receive comprehensive training and professional development as part of the programme.

Eligibility highlights: applicants should have at least a UK-equivalent Bachelor’s (Honours) degree at 2:1 level. English language requirements for the Faculty of Science equivalent to IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each category are stated. The mode of study is full-time, with a start date of 1 October 2027. Shortlisted candidates are expected to be interviewed on 2, 3, and 4 February 2027.

Application deadline: 30 November 2026. Applicants must apply via the University of East Anglia postgraduate research application page and use the NRPDTP-specific personal and research statement templates referenced in the advert.

Funding details

Available

What's required

Applicants should hold at least a UK-equivalent Bachelor’s (Honours) degree at 2:1 level. English language proficiency is required, with the Faculty of Science equivalent being IELTS 6.5 overall and 6.0 in each category. The studentship is full-time.

How to apply

Apply through the University of East Anglia postgraduate research application portal. Use the NRPDTP bespoke templates for the Personal and Research statements. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on 2–4 February 2027.

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