Explore our opportunities to work with leading experts in virology and study viral diseases affecting livestock and their potential to spread to humans.
At Pirbright, our community of over 40 PhD students, affiliated with universities across the UK, benefit from access to world-class facilities in a vibrant environment that fosters research and collaboration.
We have partnered with various universities and industries to offer a selection of PhD studentships. These partnerships offer students an exceptional opportunity to obtain a broad view of infectious disease research in a dynamic and unique research environment.
Students can work with project partners, allowing for interdisciplinary, cross-institutional approaches to solving the challenges of livestock diseases. This approach is complemented by core skills training at the student's host institutions, providing flexible training options and experiences that support a wide range of career paths.
Funding
PhD studentships for UK students are primarily funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
International students are welcome to apply, but they must secure funding through scholarships or other means, as detailed in each specific studentship advert.
Available PhD studentships
Title: Probing the Function of RNA Structural Elements in the FMDV Genome using Biophysical and Genetic Approaches
Principal Supervisors
Dr Trevor Sweeney (The Pirbright institute); Dr Chris Hill (University of York)
Co-Supervisors
Dr Toby Tuthill (The Pirbright Institute); Dr Steven Quinn (University of York)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 3 February 2025
Title: Antigenic Evolution of Neuraminidase in H5Nx Clade 2.3.4.4b Avian Influenza Viruses and its Impact on Viral Fitness in Avian and Mammalian Species
Principal Supervisors
Prof Munir Iqbal (The Pirbright Institute), Prof Wendy Barclay (Imperial College London)
Co-Supervisors
Dr Rebecca Daines, Dr Jean-Remy Sadeyen (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 10 February 2025
Title: Ex Vivo Analysis of Chicken Bursal Secretory Dendritic Cell Responses to Diverse IBDV Pathotypes and their Interaction with B Cells in Viral Pathogenesis
Principal Supervisors
Dr Ahmed Ibrahim (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Kate Sutton (University of Edinburgh)
Co-Supervisors
Dr Wilhelm Gerner (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 13 February 2025
Please note: Full details for this project can be found on FindAPhD and applications must be made via the University of Edinburgh.
Title: Discovering the determinants of host tropism of an emerging livestock pathogen
Principal supervisors
Dr Jonas Albarnaz (The Pirbright Institute), Prof Stephen Graham (University of Cambridge)
Co-Supervisor
Dr Dalan Bailey (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 16 February 2025
Title: Investigation of Novel Accessory Proteins in the Replication of Infectious Bronchitis Virus
Principal Supervisors
Dr Sarah Keep (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Edward Emmott (University of Liverpool)
Co-Supervisors
Dr Helena Maier, Prof Nicolas Locker, Dr Erica Bickerton (The Pirbright Institute), Prof Julian Hiscox, Prof Peter McCormick (University of Liverpool)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 17 February 2025
BBSRC Wessex One Health (WOH) Doctoral Landscape Award PhD Studentships
WOH brings together the expertise of universities and four major UK institutes with national capability for working on high consequence pathogens, to provide a broad training and research experience for students.
Applications to WOH studentships must be made through the University of Surrey website.
Title: Measuring poxvirus evolution using machine learning and pangenomics
Supervisors
Dr Bingxin Lu (University of Surrey), Dr Tim Downing (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details and to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: A novel mechanism of viral haemorrhage: from biomarker to mechanistic insights
Supervisors
Dr Paola Campagnolo (University of Surrey), Dr Kevin Maringer (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Bioengineering 3D spleen culture models to study host-African swine fever virus interactions
Supervisors
Dr Patrizia Camelliti (University of Surrey), Dr Wilhelm Gerner (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: AI-driven surveillance for zoonotic pathogens in livestock and wildlife
Supervisors
Dr Anjan Dutta (University of Surrey), Ryan Waters (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Understanding the basis of viral-bacterial co-infections in poultry
Supervisors
Dr Jai Mehat (University of Surrey), Dr Erica Bickerton (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Systems biology to unveiling the metabolic burden of persistent viral infections
Supervisors
Dr Matteo Barberis (University of Surrey), Dr Naomi-Forrester-Soto (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Identifying genetic biomarkers of virulence in Marek's disease virus
Supervisors
Dr Steve Fiddaman (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Bram Kuijper (University of Exeter)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Exploring the potential transmission dynamics of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans
Supervisors
Dr Simon Gubbins (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Giovanni Lo lacono (University of Surrey)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Investigating Culicoides populations in urban environments
Supervisors
Dr Marion England (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Martha Betson (University of Surrey)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Visualising effective and dysregulated immune responses to virus infection
Supervisors
Dr Jane Edwards (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Falko Steinbach (University of Surrey)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Unravelling hidden patterns: AI-guided analysis of conserved cellular responses to diverse to diverse RNA and DNA viruses
Supervisors
Dr Jonas Albarnaz (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Sneha Pinto (University of Surrey)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Investigating how viruses enter cells using biophysics and synthetic biology
Supervisors
Dr Toby Tuthill (The Pirbright Institute), Dr Wooli Bae (University of Surrey)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Title: Characterising animal-specific roles of peroxisomes during foot-and-mouth diseases virus (FMDV) infection
Supervisors
Prof Michael Schrader (University of Exeter), Prof Nicolas Locker (The Pirbright Institute)
Start date: October 2025
Deadline to apply: 28 February 2025
For full details to apply, please visit the University of Surrey's website
Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science Landscape Award (ILESLA)
The Pirbright Institute is a partner in the BBSRC/NERC Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science Landscape Award (ILESLA).
The world faces unprecedented challenges, from climate change and food security to infectious diseases, biodiversity declines and sustainability.
ILESLA will train a new generation of creative, collaborative and entrepreneurial researchers who are equipped to meet these complex, cross-disciplinary challenges.
These future leaders will have the knowledge and skills to generate innovative solutions that integrate science across BBSRC and NERC remits, and to conduct curiosity-led research that generates far-reaching insight into biological and environmental systems, and their interactions.
For full details of the programme and to apply, please visit the ILESLA website.
Deadline to apply: 29 January 2025.
