PhD Studentship - How Pathogens Emerge: Integrating Large Language Models with Comparative Genomics to Uncover the Zoonotic Potential of Bacteria

Overview

The University of Exeter is offering a PhD studentship titled How Pathogens Emerge, combining large language models with comparative genomics to uncover the zoonotic potential of bacteria. It is based in Public Health and Sport Sciences on the Penryn Campus and is one of the projects competing for a place among up to 18 MRC-funded studentships offered through the GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme across biomedical disciplines, with a start date of October 2027.

Most emerging bacterial pathogens come from animal hosts, yet it is hard to predict which species will cross into human populations and why. The project will use AI large language models to extract infection context from hundreds of thousands of scientific publications and combine this with comparative bacterial genomics to identify molecular signatures of host switches. Together these approaches will produce biologically interpretable models of zoonotic emergence and, ultimately, help develop new tools for human pathogen surveillance. The student receives training in bioinformatics, data science and microbiology, preparing them for careers in infectious disease research.

Who can apply

The four-year studentships are open to UK and international students.

What you get

The studentship covers UK tuition fees and a doctoral stipend matching the UK Research Council national minimum, £21,805 per year for 2026/27, updated each year. Additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per year is also available.

How to apply

Applications are made through the university's online application route.

Key dates

The closing date is 21 October 2026, and the studentship starts in October 2027.