PhD Studentship in Engineering bacterial fimbriae into advanced biomaterials for cell culture applications.

Award Summary

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate). Additional project costs will also be provided.

Overview

This project will engineer a bacterial fimbriae into advanced biomaterials that have applications in cell culture. Our focus is on the bacterial fimbriae Capsular antigen fragment 1 (Caf1). We have learned to produce Caf1 on a large scale through its recombinant expression in Escherichia coli and to engineer its structure to display peptide motifs that provide important biological cues to cells. We aim to develop “next generation” Caf1 polymers that display controlled lengths and compositions of different biological cues that we believe will better facilitate the culture of cells including those that are difficult to culture. This project will provide training in recombinant protein expression and the purification and characterization of Caf1 monomers and polymers. You will gain experience in advanced cell culture techniques across a range of cells used in bioprocessing e.g vaccine production.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

1st October 2025

Award Duration

4 years

Application Closing Date

28th February 2025

Sponsor

EPSRC

Supervisors

Professor David Fulton, Dr Thomas McAllister and Dr Helen Waller

Eligibility Criteria

A minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (such as chemistry or biosciences) is our standard entry, however we place value on prior experience, enthusiasm for research, and the ability to think and work independently. Excellent Analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements. A Masters qualification is not required if you have a minimum 2:1 degree or can evidence alternative experience in a work or research-based project. If you have alternative qualifications or experience, please contact us to discuss.

For EPSRC DLA applications we are following the EDEPI competency-based framework. Please read and complete this document as your Personal statement, and upload this with your application. Applications which do not include this document will not be considered. Further details can be found here.

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) 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.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

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: 8100F.

·        select ‘PhD Chemistry (full time)’ 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) – Use this template.

·        the studentship code DLA2523 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field.  

·        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

[email protected]. You can also contact: [email protected] for independent advice on your application.