Postgraduate research

Funded opportunities

Listed below are the funded studentship opportunities which are currently accepting research student applications.

College of Life Sciences

Please read the studentship adverts for eligibility criteria, funding and application process.

Cardiovascular Sciences: MLTC related chromatin remodelling and dysregulated iron homeostasis as the basis for the Obesity Paradox

Supervisors: Professor Gavin Murphy, Professor Veryan Codd, Dr Tom Webb, Charles Solomon, Dr Weiqi Liao
Start date: 22 September 2025 (latest start 5 January 2026)
Closing date: 31 July 2025

Cardiovascular Sciences: Telomere length and vascular disease, investigating the role of gene expression through Machine Learning

Supervisor: Dr Christopher P Nelson
Start date: 22 September 2025
Closing date: 21 July 2025

British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence PhD studentships

Two studentships from five projects
Start date: September 2025 or January 2026
Closing date: 18 July 2025

Cancer Studies: Inferring the evolutionary history of premalignant mesothelioma to identify drugable bottlenecks for therapy and prevention

Supervisor: Professor Dean Fennell
Start date: 1 October 2025
Closing date: 18 July 2025

Cancer Studies: A multimodal fine-funded foundation model to support precision medicine of mesothelioma

Supervisor: Professor Dean Fennell, Professor Hiuyu Zhou, Professor Hongyu Zhou
Start date: 1 October 2025
Closing date: 20 July 2025

School of Healthcare: Artificial Empathy (UK applicants only)

Supervisors: Professor Jeremy Howick, Professor Simon Gay, Dr Amber Bennett-Weston
Start date: 22 September 2025 or 5 January 2026
Closing date: 15 August 2025

Molecular and Cell Biology PhD for January 2025 Master's students

Available for 2026 entry for students who register on the University of Leicester Master's MSc Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology or MSc Molecular Genetics January 2025 intake.

College of Life Sciences studentship

Supervisors: To be decided by applicant
Start date January 2026
Closing date 30 September 2025

Self-funded projects

Open to overseas applicants who can fund their own study or hold their own external sponsorship. For further information about the available projects please click on the subject page links.

Projects open until filled unless stated

Population Health Sciences

Dr Rupert Major: Patient support for decision making in relation to arterio-venous fistula formation before dialysis and ligation after a successful transplant: a mixed-methods study (open to UK and overseas)
Professor Pratik Choudhary: Evaluating the ethnic differences of physical activity on blood glucose
Louise Hull: Identifying research priorities to advance the application of implementation science to lifestyle intervention research
Dr Tim Lucas: To understand how women’s health during pregnancy is affected by heatwaves and how 24-hour behaviours and technological interventions can reduce these risks
Dr Claire Meek: The role of 24-hour behaviours in optimising the clinical management of diabetes in pregnancy
Dr Thomas Wilkinson: Optimising the measurement of muscle and physical function in clinical trials of people living with obesity

Respiratory Sciences

Dr John E. Pearl: Survey of clinical non-tuberculous mycobacteria isolates for mycobacteriophages: their presence, diversity and potential role in disease
Dr Natalie Garton: Rhodococcus equi lipid bodies: Targeting the pathogen’s fat reserves for infection control
Professor Andrea Cooper: Stratification of TB risk by immunophenotyping and expression of key diagnostic markers
Professor Galina Mukamolova: Development of novel therapeutic strategies to target Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence

Healthcare

Professor Joseph Manning: Reducing pressure injury in critically Ill hospitalised infants, children and young people: An intervention bundle development and feasibility testing study
Professor Joseph Manning: Paediatric to Adult intenSive care tranSition for chronicAlly critically ill younG pEople: The PASSAGE Study
Dr Sion Scott: An intervention to facilitate deprescribing for people with intellectual disability
Professor David Wright: PhD in Pharmacy Practice - Longitudinal Placements within the Undergraduate Pharmacy Degree: Defining the value