PhD Studentship - Developing Blood Tests for the Early Detection of Neurodegeneration Following Traumatic Brain Injury

The GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme is offering up to 18 MRC funded studentships across a range of biomedical disciplines, with a start date of October 2027.

These four-year studentships provide funding for fees and stipend at the rate set by the UKRI, as well as other research training and support costs, and are available to UK and International students.

This project is in competition for place with the projects across the MRC GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Award studentships. There are a total of 18 studentships available across the partnership.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to modern medicine, and bacteriophage therapy is a promising route to treat drug-resistant infections. Yet phage therapy can fail when bacteria evolve resistance or deploy defence systems that block infection. This project will ask how antibiotics reshape phage-bacteria interactions, resistance evolution, and cell-to-cell variation in bacterial responses. The student will combine experimental evolution, microbiology, single-cell imaging and biochemistry, working across Exeter, Bath and Bristol. Patient and public involvement will help keep the project focused on clinically relevant questions and the future use of phage therapy.

These studentships are funded through GW4 BioMed3 MRC Doctoral Landscape Programme and consist of UK tuition fees, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/27, updated each year).

Additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per annum is also available.

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