Available PhD /MPhil projects

See below for a list of currently advertised PhD projects, however do feel free to contact any potential supervisors whose work is of interest to you to discuss other project ideas.

Please click on the links for more details on the projects and how to apply

Fully funded Projects: 

• Retracing the evolution and host adaptation of the human gut microbiome (Dr Alex Almeida)  - This is a fully funded targeted project available through the Cambridge Biosciences DTP PhD Programme.  Please find out how to apply here and please do contact the supervisor to discuss.  Deadline to apply will be early December 2025.

• Investigating pathogenicity in zoonotic Streptococcus suis (Dr Lucy Weinert) - full funding available for Home students.  Applications closed

Part funded Projects: 

• (Funding for maintenance only): MPhil Project: Is Myasthenia Gravis the hidden cause of Acquired Megaoesophagus in dogs?   (Dr An Vanhaesebrouck) (latest start date: October 2026)

Self-funded Projects:The projects below do not come with funds to support maintenance stipend or fees - Interested students would need to apply for the University funding schemes or seek funding from elsewhere for fees and maintenance (info on funding here):

Start date from October 2026 (or as discussed with supervisor):

• PhD:The mechanisms by which disease-inducing mutations trigger innate immune signalling proteins (Prof Clare Bryant) 

• PhD:How do evolutionary changes in innate immune genes influence host susceptibility to infection with zoonotic pathogens (Prof Clare Bryant) 

• PhD:Roundworm-microbiome interactions in companion animals and implications for zoonotic disease tansmission (Prof Cinzia Cantacessi)

• PhD:Intervertebral disc disease in dogs (Prof Paul Freeman)

• PhD/MPhil:Looking for evidence that a bacterium known as C.acnes (P. acnes) plays a role in IVDD (Prof Paul Freeman)

• PhD:Pathophysiology of red cell membrane permeability (Prof John Gibson)

• PhD:Long-term stability of DNA methylation in transissible cancers (Prof Elizabeth Murchison)
• PhD:Searching for transmissible cancers in aquatic vertebrates (Prof Elizabeth Murchison)
• PhD: Spillover! Modelling the dynamics of zoonotic viruses from wildlife to human populations (Dr Olivier Restif) 
• PhD: Model-based evaluation of dog rabies vaccination campaigns in Tanzania(Dr Olivier Restif) 

• PhD:Decoding the Causes of Multidrug Resistance using Genomics (Dr Lucy Weinert)

• PhD: Pioneering advanced techniques to measure bacterial mutation rates (Dr Lucy Weinert)

• PhD: Evaluating the antibiofilm activity of human urinary extracellular vesicles (Professor Tim Williams)