PhD Studentship - How Pathogens Emerge: Integrating Large Language Models with Comparative Genomics to Uncover the Zoonotic Potential of Bacteria

The GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme is offering up to 18 MRC funded studentships across a range of biomedical disciplines, with a start date of October 2027.

These four-year studentships provide funding for fees and stipend at the rate set by the UKRI, as well as other research training and support costs, and are available to UK and International students.

This project is in competition for place with the projects across the MRC GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Award studentships. There are a total of 18 studentships available across the partnership.

Most emerging bacterial pathogens originate from animal hosts (are ‘zoonotic’), yet it is hard to predict which pathogen species are likely to cross into human populations and why. This project will combine AI Large Language Models, extracting infection context from hundreds of thousands scientific publications, with comparative bacterial genomics, to identify molecular signatures of host switches. Integrating these complementary approaches will generate biologically interpretable models of zoonotic emergence and ultimately aid in developing new tools for human pathogen surveillance. This project offers training in bioinformatics, data science and microbiology, preparing students for impactful careers in infectious disease research.

These studentships are funded through GW4 BioMed3 MRC Doctoral Landscape Programme and consist of UK tuition fees, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£21, 805 p.a. for 2026/27, updated each year).

Additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per annum is also available.

Please apply via the ‘Apply’button above.