PhD Studentship - Process Industries: Net Zero - Algae-omics

Award summary

100% fees (UK Home only), a minimum tax-free annual living allowance at the 2026/27 UKRI rate) (note that the 2025/26 rate is £20,780), and a research training support grant of £20,000.

Overview

This PhD project is part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ). The successful PhD student will be co-supervised by academics from the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle University.  Microalgae are playing increasingly prominent roles in wastewater bioremediation, where their well-known ability to absorb metals, nitrogen and phosphorous is used in solar driven processes that clean up the wastewater.

A process co-developed by Newcastle University and Northumbrian Water Ltd (NWL) and installed at the Bran Sands treatment works on Teesside, uses an ammonophilic microalga (Chlorococcum sp.) originally isolated from Bran Sands to remediate ammonium from the site’s anaerobic digesters. The process is stable, well characterised, and is being implemented at scale. It is central to NWL’s nutrient neutrality and net zero ambitions. However, the alga’s biology remains a black box.

This PhD project will use minion nanopore sequencing of the alga’s genome and to define the alga’s transcriptome (following RNA-Seq) when grown under a range of ammonium levels. Understanding the genetic operational limits of the alga will enable further optimisation of the bioremediation process and offers the potential to provide the underpinning data to metabolically engineer the organism in the future. This ‘omics approach will also enable the prediction of other pollutants that this organism can remediate in addition to any valuable biochemicals that may be extracted from the biomass.

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: EPSRC

Supervisors

Professor Jonathan Lee

Dr Gary Caldwell

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project. We’re looking for motivated candidates with a background in chemical engineering, bioelectrochemical engineering, environmental engineering, or related disciplines. Interest in sustainability, circular economy, and process innovation is essential. Good organisational and communication skills, and the ability to work independently and in a team are essential.

Home students are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills. 

How to apply

You must apply through the University's Apply to Newcastle Portal. Once registered, select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8856F
• Leave the 'Research Area' field blank
• Select ‘PhD in Process Industries; Net Zero (PINZ)' as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form  
• The studentship code PINZ02-26 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• ‘Research Proposal’ - when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact details: pinz.cdt@ncl.ac.uk

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