Biology and Zoology Postgraduate Research
We offer research degree opportunities across a range of biology and zoology areas. We make an impact in plant and microbial biology, ecology, and modelling, evidence and policy.
We offer opportunities to earn your PhD by doing postgraduate research in:
- conflict and synergies between human objectives and conservation interests
- co-creation of research to inform global biodiversity policy processes, especially on species conservation
- modelling disease in wildlife, livestock and human systems to identify mitigation
- enhancing resilience, productivity and quality of plants in natural and agricultural systems
- biotechnological routes to novel materials and processes, and production of sustainable chemicals
- systematics and evolution
You can also get involved in the vital work we do in areas such as:
- working towards effective protected area networks and mitigation of anthropogenic mortalities
- developing sustainable agro-ecosystems
- examining the loss of ecological functions, such as:
- pollinators
- top predators
- fisheries
- coastal protection
- amenity values
- understanding the consequences of environmental change on the resilience of ecological networks
- how natural environmental systems can, or should be, valued
- how recent leaps in technology (e.g. DNA-metabarcoding) can assist analysis, monitoring, restoration and conservation of the natural environment
We've developed a system of measuring impact forest fragmentation has on animal species. This helps to inform conservation and restoration efforts.
Funded studentships for our science PhDs and other research degrees
We have a variety of funded PhD studentships available that you can apply for. Funding is available from the Natural Environment Research Council. There's some doctoral training partnerships we're involved with.
BBSRC DTP: Smart Materials for Equipment-Free Surveillance of Plant Viruses (Newcastle, Liverpool). Deadline: 9 January 2023. Find out more.
Exploring the role of vitamin transport in insect models of disease vector biology. Deadline: 9 January 2023. Find out more.
Exploring essential nutrient transport in animal-microbe symbiosis. DeadlineL 9 January 2023. Find out more.
Role of bacterial exopolysaccharide in the maintenance of healthy human gut bacteria. Deadline: 9 January 2023. Find out more.
Understanding enzyme surface kinetics via high content screening methodology. Deadline: 30 November 2022. Find out more.
MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Characterising Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Breast Milk and their Degradation by Bifidobacterium species. Deadline: 13 January 2023. Find out more.
Engineering and de novo design of CO2 metabolism in engineered microbial consortia as the next generation platform to produce high value chemicals. Deadline: 9 January 2023. Find out more.
Sustainable bioconversion of CO2 to industrially valuable solvents. Deadline: 5 December 2022. Find out more.
IAFRI-funded: Smart Materials for Plant Health: Passive Monitoring of Viruses and Viral Vectors. Deadline: 31 January 2023. Find out more.