PhD Studentship: How to build an immune receptor: AI-led protein design for engineering disease resistance

Primary Supervisor - Professor Mark Banfield 

Like animals, plants get sick, but they have an immune system to fight back against infection. Plant diseases are a threat to food production and a constraint on achieving food security against the background of a changing climate and the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Understanding how components of the plant immune system (e.g. evolved plant immune receptors) work to detect and respond to pathogens, and how they can be engineered, offers new opportunities to protecting crops and secure higher yielding harvests in a sustainable way. However, emerging computational protein design tools enable “bottom-up” approaches to develop de novo new-to-nature immune receptors with tailored functions, offering exciting potential in agriculture against a range of important diseases.

This project will investigate how to computationally build and combine recognition-switch-execute modules to recognise pathogen molecules, turn the receptor “on” and elicit a cellular response, which in a host-pathogen infection situation would prevent disease. The project will investigate the molecular mechanisms of how these receptors work using both in vitro and in vivo approaches and explore how they can be deployed to manage plant diseases. The studentship spans interdisciplinary techniques including computational protein design, molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, in planta assays, and plant pathology. There will opportunities to work with leading national and international collaborators.

The student will receive expert training in diverse disciplines on a strategically relevant topic, within a stimulating research environment. They will join a team of researchers with shared interests and have access to world-class facilities. Further, it is expected they will attend national/international conferences to present their research.

The Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP) is offering fully funded studentships for October 2027 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. All NRPDTP students undertake a three-month professional internship placement (PIPS) during their study. Full support and advice will be provided by our Professional Internship team.

Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th February 2027.

Our partners value diverse and inclusive work environments that are positive and supportive. Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background.

To maximise accessibility and attract students from underrepresented groups to our programme we have introduced bespoke templates for applicant Personal and Research statements which will enable every applicant to fully represent themselves through providing suitable examples and evidence. These forms are on the NRPDTP website and must be used for these sections of the application form.

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 2027

Additional Funding Information

This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. The studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2026/27 stipend rate: £21,805, and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 pa for each year of the studentship.

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