Life Sciences PhD Genome Stability - The maintenance of centromeric stability (2025)

What you get

This EPSRC-funded position covers Home (UK) tuition fees and a stipend at standard UKRI rates for 3.5 years. Applicants with overseas fee status need to provide evidence of how they will fund the difference between Home and International tuition fees (approx. £18k per year).

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

This PhD project focuses on investigating how centromeres manage the delicate balance between beneficial and harmful DNA repair processes to maintain genomic stability. Building on recent findings from our lab that challenge the conventional view of recombination repression at centromeres (Yilmaz et al., Nature 2021), the student will explore how homologous recombination (HR) actively contributes to centromere integrity. The hypothesis is that centromeres have a tightly regulated genetic and epigenetic landscape that controls this balance, promoting sequence variation and centromere specification while preventing harmful recombination events. The project will involve two main aims: first, dissecting the mechanisms by which HR maintains centromeric stability and suppresses chromosomal translocations and sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs); and second, investigating how centromeric RNA, histone modifications, and DNA methylation regulate the suppression of illegitimate recombination. Through advanced genomic technologies, the student will use state of the art proteomics and microscopy techniques to uncover key molecular pathways and mechanisms that maintain centromere function and stability.

Eligibility

Candidates should have (or expect) a minimum BSc 2:1. MSc degree is advantageous. Qualification should be in Biology or related subject area. You may be considered if you have other professional qualifications or experience of equivalent standing.

Candidates for whom English is not their first language must include a document listed here:  English language requirements

Applications are particularly welcomed from candidates with protected characteristics – e.g., from Black and other ethnic minorities – who are under-represented in postgraduate research at our institution.

Deadline

10 November 2024 23:45

How to apply

Please submit a formal application using the online admissions portal attaching a CV, degree transcripts and certificates, and two academic referees. A research proposal is not required. Instead, please upload a personal statement describing your subject areas of interest, skills and previous experience, motivation for Doctoral Research, future goals, and why you are applying to this project.

On the application system select Programme of Study – PhD Genome Stability. Please select ‘funding obtained’ and state the supervisor’s name where required.

Contact us

Informal enquiries about the project can be made to Evi Soutoglou at E.Soutoglou@sussex.ac.uk 

For queries about the application process, please see the online application guide or contact Emma Chorley: lifesci-rec@sussex.ac.uk