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University of East Anglia

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Faculty of Science funded studentship

PhD Studentship in N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Stabilised Gold Nanoclusters for Intracellular Catalysis University of East Anglia in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Cell Biology

Funding

This Faculty of Science-funded PhD studentship provides home tuition fees and an annual stipend for three years. The current UEA/institutional PhD stipend is £21,805 per year, subject to any agreed inflationary uplift for 2027/28. Funding is available to UK applicants.

Deadline

Feb 24, 2027

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Country

United Kingdom

University

University of East Anglia

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Keywords

Cell Biology
Chemistry
Materials Science
Biology
Chemical Synthesis
Chemical Biology
Organometallic Chemistry
Nanomedicine
Gold Nanoparticles
Nanomaterials

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About this position

The University of East Anglia is offering a full-time, three-year PhD studentship in N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-stabilised gold nanoclusters for intracellular catalysis, supervised by Dr Sophie Thomas. The project is based in Norwich, England, and starts on 1 October 2027.

The research will develop water-soluble NHC ligands and atomically precise gold nanoclusters with tunable stability, solubility, catalytic activity, size, and surface properties. It will investigate how ligand structure affects nanocluster formation, catalytic performance, cellular uptake, and behaviour in biological environments.

A major focus is the use of gold nanoclusters as catalysts for abiotic reactions inside living cells, including activation of fluorogenic probes and therapeutic prodrugs. The work may incorporate targeting functionalities such as antibodies, peptides, carbohydrates, and other biomolecule-recognition motifs, supporting future applications in bioorthogonal catalysis and catalytic nanomedicine.

This interdisciplinary PhD combines synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry, nanomaterials science, spectroscopy, and cell biology. Training will include NHC ligand and gold nanocluster synthesis; NMR, mass spectrometry, UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy; electron microscopy; cell culture; fluorescence imaging; and biological evaluation.

Applicants should normally have at least a 2:1 degree in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, or a closely related subject. Synthetic chemistry experience is desirable but not essential. The studentship is available to UK applicants and covers home tuition fees plus a stipend currently valued at £21,805 per year for three years. The deadline is 24 February 2027.

Funding details

This Faculty of Science-funded PhD studentship provides home tuition fees and an annual stipend for three years. The current UEA/institutional PhD stipend is £21,805 per year, subject to any agreed inflationary uplift for 2027/28. Funding is available to UK applicants.

What's required

Applicants should normally hold at least a 2:1 degree in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, or a closely related discipline. The project is suited to applicants with a chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, materials science, or related background. Experience in synthetic chemistry is desirable but not essential. Funding is available to UK applicants.

How to apply

Apply through the jobs.ac.uk application listing for the University of East Anglia PhD studentship. Review the full project details and submit the required application materials before 24 February 2027.

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