PhD Studentship: Where do plants make their medicine? Mapping chemical defence one cell at a time
University of East Anglia
Primary Supervisor - Dr Tatsuya Nobori When a pathogen attacks, a plant fights back with chemistry. However, not every cell uses the same defence. Our recent single-cell study revealed an unexpected division of labour in infected leaves: different groups of cells activate genes for different chemical defence pathways. Which cells take on these roles, how are they organised around infection sites, and why does this organisation matter? This PhD will map that hidden cellular geography and ask whether it can help u...
Primary Supervisor - Dr Tatsuya Nobori When a pathogen attacks, a plant fights back with chemistry. However, not every cell uses the same defence. Our recent single-cell study revealed an unexpected division of labour in infected leaves: different groups of cells activate genes for different chemical defence pathways. Which cells take on these roles, how are they organised around infection sites, and why does this organisation matter? This PhD will map that hidden cellular geography and ask whether it can help u...
Opportunity details
Primary Supervisor - Dr Tatsuya Nobori When a pathogen attacks, a plant fights back with chemistry. However, not every cell uses the same defence. Our recent single-cell study revealed an unexpected division of labour in infected leaves: different groups of cells activate genes for different chemical defence pathways. Which cells take on these roles, how are they organised around infection sites, and why does this organisation matter? This PhD will map that hidden cellular geography and ask whether it can help us discover new pathways. Most genes involved in plant specialised metabolism remain uncharacterised. Bulk tissue analyses average gene expression across whole tissues, potentially hiding pathways used by rare or transient cell states. You will create fluorescent reporter plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) and use advanced microscopy to follow defence-pathway activation as bacteria and fungi invade. You will then analyse gene-activity and chromatin profiles from around 100,000 infected leaf nuclei, combining them with a curated catalogue of biosynthetic enzymes to identify groups of genes activated together in the same cell state. Finally, you will use multiplex genome editing, pathogen assays, and metabolomics to test what the strongest candidates make and whether they help plants resist infection. Based at The Sainsbury Laboratory and working with the Osbourn group at the John Innes Centre, you will be trained in plant molecular biology, advanced imaging, single-cell data analysis, genome editing, plant pathology, and natural-product chemistry. The project offers a supported start with established data and methods, followed by real intellectual ownership as you choose and investigate the most promising candidate gene modules. This PhD would suit someone curious ab...
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. 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.
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. 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.
Funding and benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805.
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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 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.
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. 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.
Documents required
application form
Language/test requirements
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