BBSRC EngBio4GBP DFA

Announcing 5 PhD Studentships for the new BBSRC EngBio4GBP Doctoral Focal Award

Engineering Biology is at the heart of the UK’s future industrial strategy and represents a transformative field with the power to address some of the most pressing socioeconomic challenges facing society. To unlock its full potential and translate cutting edge discoveries into real world, commercial solutions, the UK urgently needs a highly skilled, forward-thinking workforce.

Our EngBio4GBP Doctoral Training Programme is designed to meet that need. We will equip the next generation of scientists with the interdisciplinary skills required to deploy Engineering Biology strategies that drive innovation across sectors from sustainable food systems to biobased manufacturing and high value chemicals. Our training environment brings together the complementary strengths of Royal Holloway University of London, Rothamsted Research, and the University of Reading, institutions with a focus on delivering scientific impact, influencing policy, and creating commercially successful innovations.

EngBio4GBP research themes are aligned to the BBSRC Doctoral Focal Award remit, including:

Bioinspired Design of Engineered Cells and Systems.
Developing novel biological chassis, pathways, and regulatory networks.
Sustainable Food Systems and Agricultural Innovation.
Engineering biological solutions to enhance human and crop nutrition, resilience and productivity.
Bioderived Feedstocks for Valuable Commodities.
Designing biological platforms for producing high value chemicals, materials, and industrial inputs.
Gene Editing and Regulatory-Aware Innovation.
Harnessing CRISPR and precision breeding technologies considering the evolving UK regulatory landscape.
Chemical and Analytical Methods for Biological Products.
Supporting regulatory approval, safety assessment and commercialisation through advanced chemical analysis.

Projects are interdisciplinary, and access to state-of-the-art facilities across the three partner institutions available. Training is designed to be modular, and apprenticeship-like in nature. Industrial involvement will be encouraged.

There are 5 studentships available for the 2026 cohort, and they will be selected from the following projects:

Precision breeding nutritional improvement and germination vigour in winter oilseed rape.
Engineering Seed Beetle Resistance in Protein Crops (Seed Shield).
Discovery and gene editing of barley susceptibility (S) genes to generate powdery mildew and rust disease resistant cereal crops.
Lupin+ Supporting lupin breeding for human value chains.
Next generation engineering of trehalose 6-phosphate.
An Engineering Biology approach to the production of valuable Isoprenoids (EngBio4ISO). 
Suppressing transgene silencing to enhance Engineering Biology – investigating the role of RDR6 in transgenic camelina via gene editing and metabolic engineering.
Engineering plant cells to develop multiparametric high-throughput screening platforms for weed control (EngCeWeCo).
Improving Nutritional Value and Taste of Lettuce through Precision Editing.

EngBio4GBP studentships will offer:

Funding for 5 full-time or part-time UK-rate tuition fees and standard UKRI-rate stipend (including London Weighting were appropriate) for 4 years. The potential exists for increased stipends via the TechExpert scheme and/or discretionary iCASE industrial funds, these criteria await confirmation.
NB these studentships are only available for UK Home fee status students
Cutting edge research training in Engineering Biology, analytics, data science and translational skills.
Access to state-of-the-art facilities across three leading research organisations.
Industry and policy engagement opportunities, building skills for careers beyond academia.
A supportive cohort environment, with cross-institutional workshops, retreats, and professional development activities, with an embedded Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) programme.
Commitment to personalised training tailored to each student’s career ambitions.