Applications for standard studentships to start in October 2023 are now closed.
October 2023 standard studentship projects are listed below. Not all projects listed will be funded; studentships will be competitively allocated to the best students, with 7 projects receiving funding at each institution.
Projects in Leeds (2023)
- Structural basis of local Ca2+ ion-mediated signalling in the mammalian brain
- Engineered Affimers for cryo-EM studies of unsolved protein structures
- Probing Aurora-A binding sites to understand the molecular mechanisms that determine biological function
- Delivery and misdelivery of outer membrane proteins to the BAM complex using cryoEM
- Assessing the role of plant membrane proteins in harnessing solar energy with video-speed electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy
- Filming photosynthesis: using molecular dynamics simulations and fluorescence to assess the dynamics of the Light Harvesting Complex II protein
- Understanding the molecular mechanisms of periplasmic chaperones to underpin the discovery of novel antimicrobial targets in gram-negative pathogens
- Simultaneous screening for protein expression and binding to facilitate protein target and lead drug validation in the biopharmaceutical industry
- Life in the freezer – how do proteins function in the cold?
- Pollinator fertility in a warming world
- Mapping cellular interactions of cardiovascular ion channels by chemical proteomics
- Muscle mechanical function during running – validating computational biomechanical models
- Revealing the transport mechanism of P-glycoprotein using synthetic membrane mimetics
- How do environmental cues affect reproduction?
- Understanding comparative aspects of implantation in placental mammals
- Understanding the molecular basis for zoonosis of hepatitis E virus
- Exploring the roles of endosomal potassium ion channels in viral infection and cellular physiology
- Neural circuit changes underpinning olfactory learning
- Understanding compartmentalized intracellular signaling in somatosensory neurons
- Development of super-selective probes to target perineuronal nets for understanding the plasticity of neurons
- Molecular targets of analgesic natural compounds in the sensory system
- Unravelling the mechanisms behind inherited heart disease through time-resolved microscopy
- How does myosin 10 contribute to filopodia formation and stability?
- Investigating the conformational landscape of mechanosensitive ion channels by Molecular Dynamics, PELDOR and CryoEM
- Design and Folding of beta barrel membrane proteins
- How does skeletal muscle communicate across organs, tissues and cell types to induce the beneficial metabolic effects of exercise?
- Molecular-level understanding of thioesterase domains in natural product biosynthesis
- Molecular basis of mechanobiology: The pressure-sensitive Piezo channels
- Aerodynamic force production and efficiency during flight
- Understanding protein autoactivation in molecular detail
- Modulating Protein-Protein Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Regions using a Chemical Biology Approach
- Development of covalent peptidomimetics targeting protein-protein interactions in cell division and cancer
- Structural regulation of SMC5/6 complex in response to cellular DNA damage and invaded viral DNA
- Dissecting viral lectin receptors DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR-glycan multivalent interactions by PELDOR spectroscopy and glycan-nanoprobes
- Breaking the Chaperone Code: How do post-translational modifications regulate Hsp70 stress response?
Projects in Sheffield (2023)
- Matrix, mechanics and morphogenesis: Investigating the biomechanical properties of extracellular matrix which shape the developing heart
- Plant Traumatic Stress Syndrome: exploring the internal and external drivers of plant stress memory against pests and diseases
- A mechanistic understanding of phosphoinositide regulation during phagosome maturation
- Using cryo-electron microscopy to unravel conformational changes in photosynthetic complexes
- Using novel technologies to probe the resilience of crop heritage varieties to abiotic stress
- Is regeneration of an organ simply a recapitulation of its initial development?
- Understanding tissue patterning in a fluctuating environment
- Investigating functional conservation of Specialized ribosomes in eukaryotes
- Influence, and buffering, of genetic variation on miRNA regulation
- Using AlphaFold structure predictions to accelerate molecular and genetic dissection of protein-protein interactions in intracellular polarity signalling
- Beyond the boundaries of plant sex: the role of the cell wall in fertilisation
- Combining synthetic and evolutionary biology to develop novel ‘Infectious inoculants’ for agricultural sustainability
- Unraveling the mechanics of lateral gene transfer between grasses
Projects in York (2023)
- Understanding the mechanisms of stress responses in eukaryotic cells
- Deciphering how insulin signalling controls the cytoskeleton during neuronal development and ageing
- Multiple entry points: Detecting and characterising substrate promiscuity in bacterial sugar transporters
- Understanding the mechanism of how PspA protects mycobacterial bioenergetics in response to antibiotic and environmental stressors
- Mechanistic dissection of intra-Golgi vesicle targeting
- Targeting antibiotic resistance: the importance of genome segregation
- Contact dependent inhibition (Type V secretion) in bacterial populations: a stealth contributor to antibiotic tolerance?
- Proteolytic control of intracellular bacterial infections
- A mechanistic role for Cip1-interacting zinc finger protein 1 (CIZ1) variants during urothelial differentiation and regeneration
- At the interface of injury, age and nutrition: characterising a novel protein regulating neuronal activity, survival and starvation responses.
- LPS and LTA: sticking, binding and anchoring? Using cutting-edge glycobiology to address molecular interactions of bacteria cell-wall biomarker with host cells
- Understanding the regulation of apoptosis by autophagy
- Perception of evening coolness in bread wheat: a key role for phytochrome in heading date
- Elucidating the Mechanism of Hypoxic Reprogramming of the Estrogen Response.
- Modelling microbial metabolic islands in the (waste) stream
- Magnetic spectroscopy and magnetometry studies of metalloenzymes for biomass utilisation
- Cryo-electron microscopy study of the molecular mechanism of genome packaging by dsDNA viruses
- The oncogenic mechanism and potential of the emergent retrovirus ALV-K in global poultry
- How did opium poppy evolve to make morphine?