New PhD studentship to start October 2026 as part of the Wessex One Health BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme!

Paralysis in the hive: epidemiology and persistence of a neglected virus pathogen of honeybees.

Honeybees and other pollinators are of tremendous economic importance, providing essential pollination services to agriculture, but they are increasingly threatened by a diversity of pathogens and other stressors. There is growing recognition of the need for a better understanding of the complex interactions between the host, pathogens and stressors for the sustainable provision of pollination services. Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) is a relatively neglected disease that is both an important problem for UK bees and an intriguing pathogen from a virology perspective, but it is still poorly understood, which greatly hinders the development of appropriate management strategies.

This exciting project will address this knowledge gap by investigating the host-pathogen dynamics of CBPV in honeybees at within-host, colony and population levels in a cross-agency collaboration between the University of Sussex (Prof William Hughes), APHA (Dr Arran Folly), National Bee Unit (Nigel Semmence) and Pirbright Institute (Dr Naomi Forrester-Soto). The work will involve quantifying virus replication and mutation rates, controlled virus inoculation experiments to examine host-pathogen transmission dynamics, and integrating field sampling and syndromic surveillance into spatial and phylogenetic analyses to investigate virus patterns across the UK. The results will both advance our fundamental understanding of host-virus dynamics and be of applied impact in informing the management of an important, neglected disease.

You will receive an exciting diversity of interdisciplinary training, including two professional internships at APHA and the Pirbright Institute, encompassing cutting-edge virology, laboratory experiments, and advanced statistical analyses, as well as first-hand experience of applied stakeholder knowledge exchange with the National Bee Unit. The project will provide you with an outstanding range of skills and experience to support a subsequent career across a broad diversity of fields in academia and industry, health and veterinary sciences, agriculture and conservation

See the project advert here for more details and how to apply. Deadline for applications is 23rd January 2026.

Postdocs / Research Fellows

Any postdoc positions I have available will be advertised on www.jobs.ac.uk. If you are interested in joining the Hughes Lab then there are also a number of funding schemes that I can help you apply to for fellowships depending on your career stage and nationality, including NERC, BBSRC, the Carlsberg Foundation, DFG, FWF, EMBO, HFSP, and the Royal Society. We have a particularly good track record of success in hosting EC-funded Marie Curie Fellowships. If you are interested in potentially applying for a fellowship to join us then please email me (william.hughes@sussex.ac.uk) with a copy of your CV, a brief outline of your research interests, and some thoughts on funding sources, and we can discuss possibilities.

PhD studentships

Studentships are advertised on the University website and www.findaphd.com. The main recruitment round opens in November/December with a deadline for applications in January/February, although studentships are sometimes advertised at other times as well. There are also a couple of funding schemes which we can directly apply to if you are a sufficiently motivated and high quality student, and contact me far enough in advance. If you are interested in carrying out a PhD studentship with us and meet those criteria then email me (william.hughes@sussex.ac.uk) with a copy of your CV and brief summary of your research interests and we can discuss what possibilities there may be.