PhD Studentship: Unlocking healthy ageing: harnessing proteostasis pathways to promote extracellular matrix function

Overview

This 4-year PhD studentship is awarded through the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership at the University of East Anglia. The research project focuses on unlocking healthy ageing by harnessing proteostasis pathways to promote extracellular matrix function. The work investigates how driving the activation of a key stress response influences the composition, structure, and function of the extracellular matrix during ageing, and determines whether these changes promote a prolonged healthspan.

Who can apply

Candidates should be enthusiastic and highly motivated individuals with a strong interest in ageing biology and genetics.

What you get

The studentship provides payment of tuition fees directly to the university, a stipend for living expenses at the 2026/27 rate of £21,805 per annum, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 per annum for each year of the studentship. Selected candidates will gain training and skills in experimental design, bioinformatics, scientific writing, and presentation, alongside expertise in ageing biology, cell biology, omics approaches, and genetic techniques. Participants also attend external training courses, conferences, local seminars, research discussion groups, and journal clubs.

Requirements

The project involves utilizing transcriptomics and proteomics to determine extracellular matrix composition, advanced imaging techniques such as confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to examine structure, and genetic approaches combined with physiological and survival assays to understand how changes in extracellular matrix function affect healthspan.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is 2026-11-30.