Biophysics
University of Cambridge
About the Project We invite applications from creative and motivated individuals to join Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian’s group for a 4-year PhD studentship, working on multidisciplinary projects exploiting both chemistry and biology to explore fundamental mechanisms of genome function ( http://www.balasubramanian.co.uk ).
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 29 October 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Biophysics
Medical Research Council (Cambridge)
About the Project TRIM21 is the cytosolic E3 ligase and antibody receptor responsible for intracellular antibody immunity. Unlike other ubiquitin ligases, TRIM21 doesn’t have a defined substrate but is directed towards its targets by antibodies. This unusual mechanism allows TRIM21 to target highly diverse substrates from bacteria and viruses to neurodegenerative aggregates and protein complexes.
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Biophysics
University of Sheffield
About the Project Scientific Rationale Biological life relies on a continuous flux of energy generated by complex protein machinery embedded within cell membranes. While electrical charge transport powers synthetic devices, bioenergetic charge transport operates via fundamental physical principles that remain incompletely understood.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 31 January 2027
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Biophysics
University of Leeds
About the Project Cardiac arrhythmias are a leading cause of sudden death and morbidity. This project aims to identify why they occur in the elderly and novel routes to therapies. Common cardiac arrhythmias - when the heart starts to lose its coordinated rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation and sick sinus syndrome, result in poor overall function. The incidence of these increase as we get older.
- Location
- Leeds, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of York
About the Project Lead supervisor: Dr Agnes Noy Co-supervisors: Dr Martin Fascione and Prof Gavin Thomas The student will be registered with the Department of Physics, Engineering and Technology Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine, already responsible for millions of deaths worldwide each year. A major contributor to this crisis is the formation of bacterial biofilms.
- Location
- York, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Birmingham
About the Project This PhD project will develop a new class of MRI contrast agents. MRI is an essential tool for medical diagnosis. Contrast agents play a crucial role in improving the images obtained, and hence patient outcomes. Most clinical MRI contrast agents are based on gadolinium, due to its electronic structure. However, gadolinium toxicity is a recognised problem for patients and our environment.
- Location
- Birmingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Biophysics
The University of Manchester
About the Project Most regenerative therapies instruct cells using soluble factors and defined biochemical culture conditions. The Amer Lab takes a different approach: engineering cell-matrix interactions to understand and direct how stem cells build and repair tissue. This creates opportunities to develop more controllable regenerative platforms and better predictive human in vitro models, working at the interface of cell biology, biomaterials and clinical translation. Dr.
- Location
- Manchester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
Cardiff University
About the Project Smart wearable electronics that are fabricated on fabrics or textile substrates are of importance for next-generation portable electronic device systems. Ideal wearable and portable applications not only require the device to be integrated into the various platform but also desire a self-powered feature. At present, most of all self-powered wearable electronics are designed to be connected with energy generation and storage devices separately.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Reading
About the Project Project Overview Fractional order calculus (integro-differential equations that are of non-integral order) is an emerging methodology with wide applications across all areas of Physics and Engineering. It enables the modelling of complex phenomena assuming simple underlying laws. Furthermore, it provides an explanation to emergent properties in dynamic systems.
- Location
- Reading, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of York
About the Project DNA is often depicted as a perfect double helix, yet inside living cells it is constantly bent, twisted, and supercoiled to perform essential genetic functions. These looping and supercoiling processes play key roles in gene regulation, replication, and genome organization. Despite their importance, the physical mechanisms controlling DNA looping remain poorly understood. Beyond its biological significance, DNA is also a powerful material for nanotechnology.
- Location
- York, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Dundee
About the Project It is an important question to answer how cells move in a crowded environment. In this project, we’ll use the vertex model (a widely used computational framework for cell-based studies of epithelial tissue mechanics) to study motion of a small patch of motile cells in otherwise inert environment. The student will learn how to set up and run a sophisticated numerical simulations of a model biological system.
- Location
- Dundee, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Sheffield
About the Project GLP-1 Receptor are G protein coupled receptors that naturally respond to glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone produced in the gut in response to food intake. The receptor is the target for the type 2 diabetes and weight loss drug semaglutide. Its actions in the pancreas are well studied however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for its regulation of secretion from neurons.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Leicester
About the Project Second Supervisor : Dr Gareth Hall, Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology & School of Biological and Biomedical Science, University of Leicester Pin1 is a prolyl isomerase enzyme that catalyses the cis/trans isomerization of proline residues in over 200 protein substrates. Dysregulation of Pin1 levels is strongly associated with regulation of pathways associated with DNA repair and ageing.
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Biophysics
University of Oxford
About the Project Prof. Madhavi Krishnan's group is looking for bright, highly motivated and committed students for PhD research in the broad area of single molecule biophysics and nanoscience. Our lab has recently developed the ability to trap molecular-scale entities in solution, e.g., biological macromolecules such as proteins and DNA, without the use of external forces ( Nature , 2010; Nature Nanotechnology , 2012; Nature Nanotechnology , 2017; Science 2025).
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)