PhD Studentship: How to build an immune receptor: AI-led protein design for engineering disease resistance
Overview
This 4-year PhD studentship focuses on artificial intelligence-led protein design for engineering disease resistance in plants. The project is hosted at the John Innes Centre, part of the University of East Anglia, and is supported by the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme for October 2027 entry. Students investigate how to computationally build and combine recognition-switch-execute modules to detect pathogen molecules and trigger a cellular response, utilizing techniques such as computational protein design, molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, in planta assays, and plant pathology.
What you get
The studentship covers payment of tuition fees directly to the university and provides a stipend to cover living expenses, utilizing a rate of £21,805 per annum. Additionally, recipients receive a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year for each year of the studentship. Participants also complete a mandatory three-month professional internship placement during their studies and have opportunities to attend national and international conferences to present their research.
Requirements
Applicants must hold at least a UK equivalence Bachelors Honours 2:1 degree. Non-native speakers must meet the Faculty of Science English language requirement of IELTS 6.5 overall with 6 in each category. Candidates must use the bespoke templates provided on the programme website for their Personal and Research statements.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted following the specific guidelines and using the required bespoke templates for the Personal and Research statements to ensure accessibility for all applicants. Selection and admission procedures do not consider gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age, or social background.
Key dates
The application closing date is 2026-11-30. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of February 2027. The program commences on 1 October 2027.