PhD Studentship: Engineering Gene Drives for Pest Insect Suppression
University of East Anglia
Primary Supervisor - Professor Tracey Chapman Mediterranean fruitfly (medfly) is a global agricultural pest that causes annual billion-dollar losses and threatens food security. It is predicted to spread to the UK within the next 2 decades due to climate warming. CRISPR-based technologies enable significant advances for population suppression, and gene drives in particular offer promise for self-propagating, sustainable alternatives to pesticides for medfly and other key pests. However, a central obstacle remain...
Primary Supervisor - Professor Tracey Chapman Mediterranean fruitfly (medfly) is a global agricultural pest that causes annual billion-dollar losses and threatens food security. It is predicted to spread to the UK within the next 2 decades due to climate warming. CRISPR-based technologies enable significant advances for population suppression, and gene drives in particular offer promise for self-propagating, sustainable alternatives to pesticides for medfly and other key pests. However, a central obstacle remain...
Opportunity details
Primary Supervisor - Professor Tracey Chapman Mediterranean fruitfly (medfly) is a global agricultural pest that causes annual billion-dollar losses and threatens food security. It is predicted to spread to the UK within the next 2 decades due to climate warming. CRISPR-based technologies enable significant advances for population suppression, and gene drives in particular offer promise for self-propagating, sustainable alternatives to pesticides for medfly and other key pests. However, a central obstacle remains: existing drives in medfly work in principle but are not field-ready. Through the receipt of interdisciplinary training, you will build, test and optimise critical components needed to close the gap to field readiness for this innovative control technology. Based at the UEA, you will gain in-demand skills in CRISPR design, gene drive construction, single-nucleus transcriptomics, quantitative phenotyping and population modelling, supported by placements at Keele (applied agricultural entomology) and Imperial College (gene drives, synthetic biology). You will develop and apply a split-drive optimisation pipeline, using the separation of Cas9 and gRNA components to directly identify the parameters that govern gene drive performance. A key focus is discrimination and optimisation: isolating which promoters, guides and targets improve homing while suppressing the factors that degrade drive efficiency such as resistance alleles and shadow drive. You will focus initially on optimising components and establishing phenotyping protocols, before moving on to selecting targets to test for field-deployability. Throughout, you will build translational insights. You will be immersed within a tailored training environment designed to foster innovation and independence. This...
Eligibility
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027
Requirements
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027
Funding and benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.
Required documents
application form
How to apply
You will develop and apply a split-drive optimisation pipeline, using the separation of Cas9 and gRNA components to directly identify the parameters that govern gene drive performance. This will equip you with state-of-the-art skills in CRISPR editing, cloning, insect handling, bioinformatics, and modelling, giving you a strong set of varied skills for future career development and ensuring that you are well-prepared to contribute to genetic biocontrol innovations from concept to application. These forms are on the NRPDTP website and must be used for these sections of the application form.
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Check the current official call before applying
Recorded source check: October 23, 2026. A stored check date does not guarantee that every field is complete or still current. Compare the provider, eligibility, funding and deadline with the live official call before applying.
Benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.
Eligibility summary
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027
Requirements
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category). Start date 1 October 2027
Documents required
application form
Language/test requirements
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