PhD Studentship - From Discovery to Design: Engineering the Nitroplast for Synthetic Nitrogen Fixation

Award summary

This provides a stipend of £31,805 per year for students who are eligible for Home fee status. 100% Home fees covered.

Overview

Although nitrogen is essential for all life, most organisms cannot directly utilise the vast reservoir of atmospheric nitrogen gas and instead depend on biologically available forms of nitrogen, which in agriculture are commonly supplied through industrial fertilisers. While these fertilisers have transformed global food production, their manufacture is highly energy-intensive and their use contributes to significant environmental pollution.

This project explores a recently discovered cellular structure known as the nitroplast, which is capable of fixing nitrogen directly within a eukaryotic cell. The nitroplast challenges long-held assumptions about how nitrogen fixation operates in nature and represents a potentially transformative step in the evolution of cellular complexity.

This PhD will investigate how the nitroplast functions, how it is maintained within its host, and the molecular and physiological interactions that underpin this unique symbiosis. By combining experimental approaches across engineering biology, the project will provide new insights into one of the most remarkable biological discoveries of recent years and advance our understanding of how nitrogen fixation can become integrated into complex cells.

Number of awards

1

Start date

1^st October 2026

Award duration

4 years

Application closing date

Friday 17 July 2026

Sponsor

DFA NERC

Study at Newcastle University

Name of supervisor/s

Sam Wilson, Professor of Biogeochemistry, Newcastle University: (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nes/people/profile/samwilson.html)

Yulia Yuzenkova (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/people/profile/yuliayuzenkova.html)

Eligibility Criteria

Due to funding restrictions, this project is only open to students eligible for Home rate fees.

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, including Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular or Structural Biology, or a related discipline.

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria.)

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 programme code: 8020F
• Research Area: Biological Sciences
• Select ‘PhD Biological Sciences’ as the programme of study. 

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

• ‘Personal Statement’ - upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form.
• Studentship code SNES310 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field.
• When prompted regarding 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.

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• your CV
• a cover letter including an explanation of what particularly interests you about the research project and what aspects you would like to explore 

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

Contact Details 

Sam Wilson, Email: sam.wilson@newcastle.ac.uk

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