PhD Studentship: Manipulating Meiotic Crossover Control in Wheat

Overview

This four-year PhD studentship focuses on manipulating meiotic crossover control in wheat to assist crop breeding and address challenges related to climate resilience and food security. The research combines fundamental meiotic cell biology with applied wheat genetics. Students will work on using TILLING mutant alleles, investigating natural allelic variation within the JIC Watkins wheat landrace collection, and developing a high-throughput pollen-typing assay. The position is offered through the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme for October 2027 entry, with work based on site at the University of East Anglia within the John Innes Centre.

Requirements

Applicants must hold at least a UK equivalence Bachelors Honours 2:1 degree in genetics, plant sciences, or a related bioscience discipline. Candidates also need to meet the English Language requirement equivalent to the Faculty of Science standard of IELTS 6.5 overall with 6 in each category. Bespoke templates provided on the programme website must be used for the Personal and Research statements in the application.

What you get

The studentship is fully funded for four years and provides payment of tuition fees directly to the University. It includes a living expense stipend at the 2026/27 rate of £21,805 per annum, along with a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per year. Additionally, all programme participants undertake a three-month professional internship placement during their studies.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is 30 November 2026. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on 2, 3, and 4 February 2027. The project starts on 1 October 2027.