PhD Studentship in Fungal Immunity & NLR Biology

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Birmingham invites applications for a PhD studentship exploring how fungal NLR genes contribute to cryptic immune responses using Zymoseptoria tritici. The project offers training across molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics and protein biochemistry.

A key activity will be generating knockout strains, performing high-throughput microbial screens, RNAseq profiling, and visualising interactions with confocal microscopy.

Qualifications

• Training in molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics and protein biochemistry.
• RNAseq profiling experience is desirable.
• Experience with diverse microbial interactions is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Generate fungal gene knockout strains for functional characterisation.
• Perform high-throughput screens of microbial collections to identify interactions.
• Conduct RNAseq profiling to map gene networks during microbe interactions.
• Use confocal fluorescence microscopy to visualise microbe–microbe interactions.
• Apply TurboID proximity labelling to identify protein–protein interactions during fungal immune responses.

Skills

Molecular biology

Bioinformatics

Protein biochemistry

Confocal microscopy

Tools

TurboID proximity labelling

Job description

University of Birmingham invites applications for a PhD studentship exploring how fungal NLR genes contribute to cryptic immune responses using Zymoseptoria tritici. The project offers training across molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics and protein biochemistry.

A key activity will be generating knockout strains, performing high-throughput microbial screens, RNAseq profiling, and visualising interactions with confocal microscopy.