PhD Studentship: How do fungi and bacteria communicate? Decoding the rules of cross-kingdom microbial interactions

Primary Supervisor - Professor Alessia Buscaino Microorganisms rarely live alone. Instead, fungi and bacteria form complex communities where they constantly communicate, compete and cooperate. These cross kingdom interactions are increasingly recognised as key regulators of microbiome function, health and disease, yet the fundamental biological rules that govern them remain poorly understood. This PhD project will investigate how the human fungal commensal Candida albicans interacts with the oral bacterium Fusob...

Opportunity details

Primary Supervisor - Professor Alessia Buscaino Microorganisms rarely live alone. Instead, fungi and bacteria form complex communities where they constantly communicate, compete and cooperate. These cross kingdom interactions are increasingly recognised as key regulators of microbiome function, health and disease, yet the fundamental biological rules that govern them remain poorly understood. This PhD project will investigate how the human fungal commensal Candida albicans interacts with the oral bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum. Although these microorganisms normally coexist harmlessly, recent studies suggest that their partnership changes dramatically in different host environments and may contribute to diseases such as colorectal cancer. Understanding why the same fungal–bacterial interaction produces such different outcomes is an outstanding biological question with important implications for human health. Based in the Buscaino and Juge laboratories at the Quadram Institute, you will explore how environmental conditions, microbial diversity and cell surface adhesins shape this interaction. The project integrates fungal genetics, bacterial biology, genomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology and protein biochemistry/biophysics, using cutting edge approaches including CRISPR genome editing, comparative genomics, transcriptomics, confocal microscopy, gut on chip models and protein interaction assays. You will receive comprehensive training in experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication, and develop highly transferable skills in project management, teamwork, organisation and communication to both scientific and lay audiences. Working within a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment, you will have access to state of the art facilitie...

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 Additional Funding Information This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. 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.

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 Additional Funding Information This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. 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.

Funding and benefits

Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.

Required documents

application form

How to apply

These forms are on the NRPDTP website and must be used for these sections of the application form.

Open the official application information

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