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University of Exeter

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PhD Studentship: One read, one cell: Decoding cell identity with long-read sequencing University of Exeter in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Available

Deadline

Dec 8, 2026

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Country

United Kingdom

University

University of Exeter

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Keywords

Computer Science
Data Science
Biology
Functional Genomics
Epigenetic
Long-read Sequencing
Statistics
Bioinformatic
ML

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About this position

[Funding covers fees plus a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7.]

PhD studentship at the University of Exeter on "One read, one cell: Decoding cell identity with long-read sequencing".

This project sits at the intersection of functional genomics, epigenomics, mathematics, and computer science. It aims to resolve cell-type-specific epigenetic profiles directly from long-read sequencing data, without the need to physically separate cells from complex tissues. Using methylation patterns from Oxford Nanopore long-read genomes and reference methylomes, the student will help develop and benchmark computational methods to predict the cell type of origin for individual reads.

The research will exploit approximately 50,000 long-read genomes from UK Biobank, enabling large-scale analysis of cell-type-specific epigenetic variation in population cohorts. Key objectives include building a comprehensive atlas of reference cell-type methylomes, predicting cellular composition from blood-based long-read datasets, and carrying out cell-type-specific epigenome-wide association studies. The downstream analyses will explore epigenetic effects associated with traits and disease-related phenotypes such as age and smoking.

The project is hosted by the University of Exeter and involves work across the Complex Disease Epigenetics Group at Exeter and the Birney Group at the European Bioinformatics Institute. The supervisory environment emphasizes advanced data science, AI methodologies, method development, and analysis of large genomic datasets. Long-read sequencing facilities are available for generating reference datasets where needed, and computational work will be supported by the ISCA and ISAMBARD 3 HPC clusters.

The studentship is funded by the MRC Medical Research Council and provides fees plus a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7. Applicants should have strong mathematical and programming skills, alongside interest in long-read sequencing and related cell biology. The application deadline is 2026-12-08.

Apply via the University of Exeter funding page: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/funding/award/?id=6025

Funding details

Available

What's required

Applicants need strong mathematical and programming skills and a genuine interest in cutting-edge biotechnologies such as long-read sequencing. A willingness to engage with cell biology to interpret findings is required; the project is predominantly data-science focused. No specific degree class, GPA, or language test is stated in the posting.

How to apply

Apply through the University of Exeter funding/application page using the posted application link. Review the studentship details and submit the required application materials before the deadline. Ensure your application demonstrates programming, mathematics, and genomics interest.

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