We are looking for two highly motivated PhD students to join our lab between October 2025 and January 2026. Both projects are closely linked and are fully funded for 4 years, offering a generous stipend of £20,780 p.a. as well as covering university fees at UK Home student level. Application deadline is 15 September 2025, with interviews held shortly after.
The students will have the opportunity to work with charismatic non-model plant systems and acquire a very broad skill set of biochemical, biophysical, bioimaging and molecular techniques, combined with diverse data analysis and bioinformatics skills.
Both projects investigate how plants tweak the wettability of their leaf surfaces, looking at two ecologically different groups of plants: carnivorous pitcher plants and floating aquatic plants. Both have in common that they combine highly wettable and water-repellent surfaces within the same leaf. Supported by an interdisciplinary team of supervisors and postdocs, the students will (1) quantify the wettability of different leaf surfaces, (2) characterize the biochemical modifications of the leaf cuticles that underpin differences in wettability, (3) distentangle the relative contributions of chemical composition and surface texture to wettability, and (4) unravel the developmental and genetic pathways that allow plants to make surfaces with contrasting wettability within the same organ.
The projects would suit students with a background in plant science, cell biology, molecular biology or biochemistry. Curiosity and critical thinking, excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team are essential. Practical lab work or bioimaging experience and/or an additional background in analytical chemistry, physics or programming are advantageous but not essential.
Interested students should contact us to discuss the projects in detail.
Application links: