PhD Opportunities in Biochemistry in United Kingdom

The University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry is seeking research students for a 2026 Chemistry PhD. The programme supports independent, in-depth research addressing global challenges in cleaner energy, sustainable synthesis, new materials, healthcare and drug discovery. Research is organised around molecular bonding and spectroscopy, materials, synthesis and catalysis, and biological chemistry. Potential projects may involve chemical synthesis of bioactive natural products, novel catalyst ...

This fully funded PhD will develop a rapid clinical decision-support technology for emergency bowel surgery. During an operation, surgeons may need to determine within minutes whether a length of bowel is viable. Existing laboratory biochemistry can provide relevant information, but the reported turnaround time is too long for this urgent decision. The project will create low-cost electrochemical sensors capable of producing quantitative, multi-marker measurements in minutes. It will use molecul...

The University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences is offering a funded, full-time PhD studentship in Norwich, United Kingdom, focused on alternative splicing regulation by small nuclear RNA (snRNA) modifications . Based in Dr Alper Akay’s RNA (epi)genetics laboratory, the project will investigate how spliceosomal snRNA modifications regulate RNA splicing and gene-specific splice-site choice. Research will use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and human cells to examine effects on t...

[Competition-funded 4-year PhD studentship. Covers UK tuition fees and a stipend at the standard UKRI rate. International students have the fee difference covered by university funding.] PhD studentship at the University of Birmingham in the Department of Cancer and Genomics Sciences, joining the group of Dr Tianyi Zhang and Dr Rui Monteiro. This 4-year, competition-funded project is offered through the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership and is open to UK, EU, and internationa...

Funded PhD opportunity in viral DNA mimic proteins at the University of Bristol. Professor Mark Dillingham is seeking an enthusiastic PhD student to investigate how bacterial viruses (phages) produce proteins that masquerade as DNA and sabotage molecular machinery in bacterial hosts. The project will focus on discovering new DNA mimic proteins and understanding their mechanisms, including viral targeting of the bacterial DNA-processing enzyme RecBCD. Research will combine computational structura...

[Fully funded studentship covering fees, maintenance stipend (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/27), and a research training and support grant (RTSG). Limited support is available for international applicants via waived home/international fee difference; relocation, visa, and health surcharge costs are not covered.] PhD Studentship at the University of East Anglia focusing on how bacterial hosts control domesticated viral machines to drive horizontal gene transfer in marine environments. This project explor...

PhD opportunity in Engineering Biology at the University of Bristol , offered in collaboration with Prof Dek Woolfson through the SWBio DTP . The project is titled Engineering co-translational protein assembly using de novo designed proteins (Project ID: 3544). It asks how proteins assemble while being synthesised on the ribosome, building on advances in protein structure prediction such as AlphaFold and focusing on the folding and assembly of de novo designed coiled-coil proteins during transla...

[Fully funded 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD studentship including tuition fees, an annual 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 in the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP): Rewiring Photosynthetic Pathways in a Purple Bacterium . This fully funded 4-year PhD project focuses on engineering the purple phototrophic ba...

PhD opportunity at Aston University in cell membrane engineering for biotechnology , with a focus on biophysics , biochemistry , microbial fermentations , and industrial biotechnology . The project aims to alter microbial cell membranes to improve tolerance to bioprocessing stresses and increase product yields in industrially relevant microorganisms. The research combines in vitro assays , microbial cell culture , omics technologies , genetic engineering , and iterative strain design-build cycle...