Animal Behaviour and In Vivo Studies

** Projects now available to apply to for fully-funded 4 year PhD studentships starting in Sept 2025 **

Application deadline: Midnight (23:59pm GMT), Wednesday 11 December 2024

This theme encompasses:

  • all aspects of learning and behaviour, from neurobiology function through to higher brain decision making. It could also encompass sensory biology, from perception of signal through to response, and include plant/microbial perception and response pathways where appropriate.
  • whole animal systems as research models, looking at development, physiology and function. It also includes ethical considerations and procedural aspects. The key is the whole animal as the starting point of the investigations and includes model systems such as zebra fish and mouse.

*CASE: These are CASE DTP studentships. As part of the programme, you will be required to undertake a placement with the CASE partner for a minimum of 3 months.

*AP: These are Standard DTP studentships with an associate partner where you will be required to spend time with each of the partners. You will be asked to apply to one of the partners (as listed in the 'Host Institution' column), but this is just for administration purposes.  You will then be registered for your postgraduate studies at one of the partner universities of the lead supervisors.  Your registered university will be confirmed by the DTP following the interview stage of the selection process.

*JD: This project is in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE) and subject to a joint degree award. Successful applicants will be registered at both these institutions, and graduates will be awarded a joint degree from these two institutions upon successful completion of the PhD programme.

The 'host institution' is where you will be mainly based throughout your PhD.  Of note, some projects may involve fieldwork or time away from the listed host institution for e.g. time spent with others within your supervisory team, collaborating university, collaborator or on a CASE/PIPS placement. 

Meet our supervisors: To help you decide on your PhD project, you can gain a detailed insight into the working style of the main supervisor and the research environment you will be part of, by visiting our meet our supervisors webpage or ‘clicking’ on the supervisor listed in bold below.  You can also find out more about the second supervisor by ‘clicking’ on their name below.

How to apply: You apply to the listed ‘ host institution’ (unless otherwise indicated in the table below) via the ‘apply now’ button.  You will then be taken to the institutional application forms with guidance and further information on submitting an application.

PROJECT TITLE

MAIN SUPERVISORY TEAM

Main supervisor (bold) + second supervisor – Or equivalents 

HOST INSTITUTION KEYWORDS
A comparative investigation of sentience assays in mammals and invertebrates: Investigating the biological origins of affective consciousness

Dr Elizabeth Paul

Prof Michael Mendl

University of Bristol Decision-making, Sentience, Cognition, Emotion, Mathematical modelling
Assessment of hypervigilance to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of anxiety symptoms

Dr Emma N Cahill

Dr Tom J Barry

University of Bristol Neuroscience, Psychology, Attention, Memory, Anxiety
Cellular and network effects of psychedelics on emotional memory processing

Dr Ross Purple

Prof Emma Robinson

University of Bristol Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Psychedelics, Behaviour, Sleep
Chrono-nutrition and Chrono-pharmacology: Investigating the Impact of Intermittent Fasting and Pharmacological Treatments on Extra-SCN Brain Oscillators for Obesity Management

Dr Lukasz Chrobok

Prof Kate Ellacott

University of Bristol Obesity, Circadian clock, Time-restricted feeding, Neurophysiology
Corvids calling: understanding the origins of complex communication *AP

Prof Alex Thornton

Dr Andrew King

University of Exeter (Penryn) (Apply here) / Swansea University Animal behaviour, Artificial intelligence, Communication, Evolution, Networks
Designing lipid nanoparticles for highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein delivery and gene editing in pest insects

Dr Thomas G. Emyr Davies

Prof Paul Verkade

Rothamsted Research (Harpenden)
(Apply to University of Bristol)
Bionanotechnology, Gene editing, Entomology, Bioimaging, Biochemistry
Determining impacts of exposure to environmentally relevant chemicals on tissue repair in fish

Dr David Gurevich

Prof Charles Tyler

University of Bath Ecotoxicology, Environmental biology, Cell biology, Analytical chemistry, Biochemistry
Do gut derived metabolites underpin ergogenic effects of prebiotics: metabolic fate of short chain fatty acid oxidation

Dr Luciana Torquati

Prof Javier Gonzalez

University of Exeter (St Luke’s) Gut microbiome, Exercise physiology, Stable isotope study, Prebiotic, 13c labelled inulin
Does time of day predict stress resilience/sensitivity across species?

Dr Karen R Mifsud

Prof Johannes Reul

University of Bristol Stress, Circadian rhythms, Behaviour, Genomics, Glucocorticoids
Drosophila models for mechanistic analysis of Huntingtin function in neurodegeneration

Dr Owen M Peters

Dr Michael Taylor

Cardiff University Invertebrate genetics, Neurobiology, Molecular interactions, Development, Neurodegeneration
Establishing the impact of plastic-derived endocrine-disruptors on adipose tissue function and health

Prof Dylan Thompson

Prof Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern

University of Bath Obesity, Endocrine, Inflammation, Environmental contaminants
Establishment and Characterization of a Novel self-renewing, non-transformed Chicken Macrophage Cell Line for the Study of Innate Immunity *AP

Prof Shahriar Behboudi

Dr Gyorgy Fejer

University of Bristol (Apply here) / University of Plymouth Macrophages, Innate immunity, Functional analysis, Gene expression
How visual systems are adapted to their environments 

Prof Nicholas Roberts

Dr Karl Wotton

University of Bristol Visual ecology, Sensory biology, Animal behaviour, Climate change
Immune system ageing in European badgers: fitness consequences, evolution and implications for disease dynamics *CASE

Dr Andrew Young

Dr Barbara Tschirren

University of Exeter (Penryn) Senescence, Immunology, Epidemiology, Evolution, Wildlife disease
Learning from mother hens: Influence of maternal care on chicken welfare and microbiomes

Dr Jo Edgar

Prof Paul Wigley

University of Bristol Animal welfare, Animal behaviour, Chicken, Microbiome, Maternal
Linking dairy cows’ day-to-day behaviours with affective states and welfare.

Dr Benjamin Lecorps

Prof Andrew Dowsey

University of Bristol Animal welfare, Affective states, Artificial intelligence, Sustainable agriculture, Dairy farming
Mechanisms of colour change in chameleon prawns – from genes to sensory ecology 

Prof Martin Stevens

Dr Martin How

University of Exeter (Penryn) Behaviour, Vision, Gene expression, Predators and prey, Camouflage
Modelling animal perception of camouflaged prey using artificial observers

Dr Laszlo Talas

Dr John Fennell

University of Bristol Animal colouration, Machine learning, Visual ecology, Camouflage, Sensory biology
Physiological mechanisms of social ageing in European rabbits

Dr Samuel Ellis

Dr Andrew Young

University of Exeter (Streatham) Ageing, Senescence, Animal behaviour, Sociality, Networks
Rhomboid proteolysis: a novel regulator of synaptic function

Prof Jack Mellor

Dr Adam Grieve

University of Bristol Neurobiology, Biochemistry, Proteomics, Electrophysiology, Enzymology
Role of cholesterol and cholesterol metabolites in brain development

Dr Helen Waller-Evans

Dr Yasir Syed

Cardiff University Neuroscience, Developmental biology, Cholesterol, Zebrafish, Cerebellar organoids
Standing up to threats: Understanding the neural mechanisms underpinning threat-related changes in balance control

Dr Jennifer Davies

Prof Jonathan Marsden

Cardiff University Neurophysiology, Balance, Brain stimulation, Muscles, Sensorimotor
Stepping up our understanding of human foot biomechanics with computer modelling and simulation

Prof Dominic Farris

Dr Xijin Hua

University of Exeter (St Luke’s) Biomechanics, Biomedical engineering, Exercise science, Musculoskeletal system, Simulation
Studying the gut-brain connection in a marine worm model using a novel high-throughput imaging system

Dr Elizabeth Williams

Dr Alex Corbett

University of Exeter (Streatham) Neuroendocrine signalling, Microscopy, Image analysis, Enteric system, Behaviour
The curious case of Turritopsisdohrni jellyfish – elucidating epigenetic principles of immortality

Dr Tomasz Jurkowski

Dr Renata Jurkowska

Cardiff University Epigenetics of ageing, Epigenomics/transcriptomics, Biological rejuvenation, Invertebrate biology, Development
The role of Colgalt2 during skeletal development and ageing 

Prof Chrissy Hammond

Dr Emma Blain

University of Bristol Zebrafish, Biomechanics, Osteoarthritis, Cartilage, Ageing
Understanding the drivers of floral specialisation and its impact on bee nutrition and health

Dr Christoph Grueter

Dr Harry Siviter

University of Bristol Nutrition, Bees, Genomics, Pollination