PhD Studentship - Developing CRISPR-Cas Antimicrobials to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance Spread in Klebsiella Pneumoniae

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 (AMR) poses a major threat to human health, which is for a large part driven by plasmids (mobile pieces of DNA) that facilitate AMR gene spread between bacteria. In this project you will develop new tools based on CRISPR-Cas to stop the spread of AMR-carrying plasmids in the important pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. Proof-of-concept work shows that this is theoretically possible, but challenges remain in discerning drivers of plasmid competition. This interdisciplinary project integrates microbiology, genomics, and synthetic biology to tackle one of the most urgent challenges in infectious disease, providing training in leading-edge approaches with real-world impact.

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.

Please apply via the ‘Apply’ button above.

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