PhD Studentship: Unlocking wheat landrace potential to improve resilience in response to major wheat rust resistance breakdown

Primary supervisor - Prof Paul Nicholson

Wheat rusts are a continual global threat to wheat production, with the potential to cause total crop loss in untreated susceptible varieties. Wheat yellow rust – caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) – is the most damaging of the three wheat rusts in the UK. In late May 2025, new Pst isolates were detected in the UK with the ability to overcome resistance conferred by the yellow rust resistance gene, Yr15. Due to the widescale deployment of this single resistance gene in UK wheat varieties, a large portion of UK wheat acreage is now vulnerable to Pst infection. This has created an urgent need to identify new diverse sources of Pst resistance that can be immediately incorporated into the UK wheat breeding pipeline.

We recently screened the geographically and phenotypically diverse A.E. Watkins collection of wheat landraces and identified a subset that are resistant to these emergent Yr15-breaking Pst isolates. The aim of this studentship is to explore and pinpoint new sources of Pst resistance within these Watkins landraces. The student will work in partnership between JIC and KWS UK to: (i) map novel Pst resistance within the Watkins landrace collection, (ii) identify regions in the wheat genome harbouring novel Pst resistance, (iii) validate these genomic regions and candidate Pst resistance genes identified in the Watkins landraces, and (iv) enhance the utility of genetic markers for tracking Pst resistance genes in breeding programmes. With the overarching goal to support diversification of resistance sources within the UK breeding pipeline.

This iCASE studentship will provide a unique opportunity to join a collaborative research project between the Nicholson and Saunders Labs at JIC and develop skills in plant resistance mapping, wheat genetics, plant pathology, and computational biology. The student will also spend a minimum of 3 months at KWS UK.

The Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP) is offering fully funded studentships for October 2025 entry. The programme offers postgraduates the opportunity to undertake a 4-year PhD research project whilst enhancing professional development and research skills through a comprehensive training programme. You will join a vibrant community of world-leading researchers. All NRPDTP CASE students undertake a three to 18-month placement with the non-academic partner during their study. The placement offers experience designed to enhance professional development. Full support and advice will be provided by our Professional Internship team.

This project has been shortlisted for funding by the NRPDTP. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on 3,4 or 5 February 2026.

Visit our website for further information on eligibility and how to apply: https://biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/.

Entry requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). 

Mode of study

Full time

Start date

1 October 2026

Additional Funding Information

This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD CASE studentship with Inspiralis Limited. The studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2025/6 stipend rate: £20,780), and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000pa for each year of the studentship.

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