PhD Studentship: Research Studentship in Control and Engineering Biology

Overview

The University of Oxford is offering a 3.5-year D.Phil. studentship in control and engineering biology, titled Synthetic Biology for fundamental science and application scale-up. It is supervised by Prof Harrison Steel and Prof Antonis Papachristodoulou. The project tackles challenges where synthetic biology meets control engineering, AI and robotics, with applications to global biotechnology challenges.

The approach depends on the candidate's skills and interests, and could include genetically engineering microbes to change their form and function, developing theory and AI methods for designing reliable engineered biosystems, or building new robotic measurement and control platforms that automate experimental work and discovery. Possible extensions apply these skills to areas such as directed evolution, protein engineering, or biomedical and environmental applications, with a focus on scale-up. The studentship fits within the EPSRC Programme Grant EEBio, on efficient engineering and control of predictable and reliable biotechnologies, so the student is supported by a multidisciplinary team of academic and industrial experts and can collaborate with partners in the UK and abroad.

Who can apply

The studentship is open to UK students, who receive the full award of home fees plus stipend. There may be flexibility to support international students, who should contact the supervisor to ask. Candidates need a first-class or strong 2:1 degree in engineering, materials science, computer science, physics, biology or biotechnology, chemistry or biochemistry, or mathematics, and excellent written and spoken English. Expertise in some, though not most, of these areas is desirable: microbiology and synthetic biology, applied mathematics, computer science, AI or control engineering, biological laboratory skills, programming, and electrical engineering and robotics prototyping.

What you get

Course fees are covered at the UK student level, at least £10,940 per year. The tax-free stipend is at least about £21,805 per year for the first year and at least that amount for a further two and a half years.

How to apply

Informal enquiries to the supervisors are encouraged. Candidates submit a graduate application form and must meet the graduate admissions criteria, quoting reference 27ENGCO_HS.

Key dates

The deadline is noon on Tuesday 2 December 2026, in line with the university's December admissions deadline. The start date is October 2027.