University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England invites online Application for number of Fully Funded PhD Degree at various Departments. We are providing a list of Fully Funded PhD Programs available at University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England.
Eligible candidate may Apply as soon as possible.
(01) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: A Robotic Soft Matter Scientist: Transforming the Sustainability of Personal Care Products
The world needs to increase the sustainability of its consumer goods without compromising on quality. We have recently shown that by complexing certain active ingredients (the often-expensive molecules in a formulation that give improved performance) with metal ions, we can incorporate them into a product as solid particles in a way that drastically reduces waste.
In this project, you will develop an experimental platform that marries robotics with cutting-edge techniques in data science and computer vision. Your work will feed directly into Unilever’s Climate Transition Action Plan to achieve a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its formulations by 2030.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(02) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Accelerated Inorganic Materials Discovery Driven by Magnetic Resonance
This studentship will explore experimental and computational Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy approaches to probe the fast oxide ion transport (e.g., self-diffusion coefficients, diffusion pathways, dimensionality of motion) of oxide in inorganic materials aimed at establishing design rules for the discovery of next generation fast conductors. The project will (1) develop automated, programmable approaches to data analysis of the NMR measurables that access motion over several time- and length-scales, (2) exploit statistical modelling frameworks to quickly predict NMR properties with high accuracy, validated by experimental NMR measurements, and (3) harness these approaches to build and accelerate structural and diffusion models (e.g., compositional, positional disorders). Examples of current research effort focusing on NMR for oxide and lithium ion transport, and beyond are given.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
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(03) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Accelerating computational materials discovery with diverse toolsets for verification and optimisation
Two PhD studentships (1 chemistry, 1 computer science) are available that will tackle the challenge to develop and implement an automated robot-based workflow that will accelerate the materials discovery process. They build on our recent physical science progress in automated synthesis of extended inorganic solids [5] and computer science progress in the diffraction data analysis required to define discovery [6]. The two students will work closely together with a multidisciplinary supervisory team to develop and integrate the methods and tools towards an automated high-throughput workflow that will revolutionise the discovery of functional inorganic materials.
Deadline : 31 December 2024
(04) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Accelerating energy landscape exploration through optimisation, approximation and parallelisation
Many heuristic methods (random walks, probabilistic selection, genetic algorithms) for energy landscape exploration in Crystal Structure Prediction (CSP) [1] are very important material discovery tools [2]. However, the future of CSP lies in efficient search methods with an explainable outcome and a mathematical guarantee [1,3].
The proposed project will bring new algorithmic approaches and focus on:
- Improving performance guarantee of heuristic methods
- Design of new unbiased search methods
- Development and implementation of parallel algorithms to speed up the exploration.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(05) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Adrian Henri – Early Happenings in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s
This project will focus on the work of Adrian Henri, the Liverpool-based poet and painter who played a pioneering role in bringing happenings to Britain. Henri’s poetry made significant cultural impact through the publication of the ground-breaking anthology The Mersey Sound, showcasing his work together with Roger McGough and Brian Patten. The publication went on to sell over half a million copies and to become the bestselling poetry anthology of all time. Performance was key to Henri’s practice and he collaborated with musicians across different fields of music. This doctoral project seeks to contextualise and develop new insights into Henri’s practice, with particular focus on his development of happenings in the UK. There will be opportunities to develop experience within Tate Liverpool’s curatorial programme.
Deadline : 2 July 2024
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(06) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Advanced Information Storage
Digital information can be stored in different types of devices depending on the use and how frequently the data need to be accessed. In a typical computer, data that are infrequently accessed are stored in hard disk drives (HDDs). These can be magnetic devices with high storage density in which binary numbers (“0” and “1”) are encoded in the polarity (spin “up” and “down”) of a magnetic medium. Magnetic data storage is cheap and non-volatile, meaning the data persists after power to the device is cut off, but the speed of accessing the data is relatively slow because the read/write procedures involve moving mechanical parts. Data being frequently required, on the other hand, needs to be accessed on a much faster timescale. Memory devices dedicated to this purpose are volatile random-access memories (RAMs) — solid-state electronic devices in which information is electrically stored. The slow non-volatile and fast volatile memories are physically separated in computers (known as von Neumann architecture), resulting in significant latency as the fast processors must wait for the slow data fetching. This has become the key performance bottleneck for the artificial intelligence (AI) related workloads.
Deadline : 31 July 2024
(07) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: An investigation of the neural basis of changes in tactile acuity during healthy ageing and its impact on emotional wellbeing
The sense of touch refers to the perception of tactile stimuli through specialised receptors called mechanoreceptors. During tactile exploration, humans typically use their hands, which are densely innervated by these mechanoreceptors. These receptors transduce incoming tactile information, resulting in high sensory acuity. However, as humans age their tactile acuity decreases, which is linked to changes in the peripheral nervous system. Despite this, tactile perception through active exploration (when we use motor control to touch our environment) declines at a slower rate than observed with passive stimulation (when the mechanoreceptors are activated by stroking in absence of movement). Therefore suggesting that tactile acuity during active touch may be supported by additional, or compensatory, central neural mechanisms.
Deadline : 7 June 2024
(08) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Analysis of the role of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in methotrexate-induced liver toxicity
Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) comprise approximately 50% of the non-parenchymal hepatic cells. They play a vital role in hepatic microcirculation and provide a physiological barrier to the movement of xenobiotics from the bloodstream to hepatic tissue. Methotrexate (MTX) is a chemotherapy and immunosuppressive drug, used at a high dose to treat leukaemia, breast cancer, lung cancer and at a lower dose to manage a variety of autoimmune diseases. The most common adverse effects include hepatotoxicity and blood abnormalities with the mechanism of MTX-induced hepatotoxicity obscure. Our preliminary data from a rat model of MTX injury has shown that MTX can adversely affect liver endothelial cell physiology.
Deadline : 29 November 2024
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(09) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Automated experimental functional materials discovery for net zero technologies
The discovery of materials that will drive technologies for the net zero transition, such as batteries, solar absorbers, rare-earth-free magnets for wind power and myriad other unmet needs, is a scientific and societal grand challenge that requires experimental realisation of materials in the laboratory. Working in a cross-disciplinary team, the student will develop and implement an automated robot-based workflow that will accelerate this process, building on very recent physical science (PS) progress in automated synthesis of extended inorganic solids [1] and computer science (CS) progress in the diffraction data analysis required to define discovery [2].
This project, suited to a student with a Physical Sciences or Engineering background, will develop and implement a robot-based materials synthesis workflow that uses a suite of software tools to assist in the key decisions that an experimentalist must make to discover a new functional material. The student will acquire expertise in robotic synthesis platforms, materials synthesis and characterisation and in programming and software organisation, benefitting from the combined physical and computer science supervision. Their project will impact inorganic materials discovery in the most general way imaginable, for example building on our new family of electrolytes for solid state batteries [3].
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(10) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Automated Powder Coating Platform for Long-Life Lithium-ion Batteries
Li-ion cells age due to unstable electrode interfaces. To maintain cycle-life, coatings are applied to active materials to mitigate against degradation processes. The generation of coatings for each active material powder morphology and type has, thus far, been via an Edisonian approach. Thereby, opportunities exist to develop methods that can rapidly and autonomously optimise the chemistry, distribution, and thicknesses of these coatings to maximise cell performance.
An inorganic synthesis route for coating formation on Li-ion positive electrode powders, utilises a “Sol-Gel” synthetic procedure to form a nanoscale metal-oxide film. The synthesis of inorganic coatings comprises 5 primary steps: solid powder dosing, liquid component dosing, reaction heating/mixing, solvent evaporation/removal, and calcination. The PhD project goal is to combine these existing, and discrete, elements into a fully automated system using a robotic arm. The student will be trained at the interface between the physical and computer sciences to drive implementation of digital and automated methods in (electro)chemistry and frontier battery materials research.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
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(11) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Beam gas curtain monitor for the High Luminosity LHC
The QUASAR Group, based at the Cockcroft Institute, has pioneered the development of a supersonic gas jet as a non-invasive beam profile monitor. By varying the gas species, density and thermodynamic parameters, the resulting event/detection rate can be varied over a very wide range, thus making the monitor a versatile device for various particle beams. It was developed specifically to monitor the profile of the primary proton beam in the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, in parallel to the profile of the electron beam in the so-called Hollow Electron Lens. The monitor has already demonstrated to work exceptionally well for both, protons and heavy ions, at LHC top energies.
To fully exploit the potential of this novel beam monitor, in particular for high beam current applications and overlapping beams, detailed simulation studies are required that further the understanding of the jet generation and formation process, jet-beam interaction, as well as image acquisition and analysis.
Deadline : 31 May 2024
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(12) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Biological pathways supporting the formation and function of chromatin (Scholarship)
Every cell in our body contains the same DNA yet each cell expresses a different set of genes. These changes in gene expression are heavily influenced by histone proteins, their role in packaging DNA into chromatin and the “epigenetic” information they carry. Thus, the supply and deposition of histones on chromatin has a profound effect on cell biology and tissue formation. We are interested to understand how histone supply chains change in different cell types including how they are misregulated in cancer.
Histone supply and deposition is coordinated by a set of proteins called histone chaperones. These proteins collaborate with various cellular machineries to drive histone supply from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and to specific sites in the genome that require packaging into nucleosomes. In this PhD project, you will generate new mechanistic understanding of how histone supply chains integrate with different cellular processes that have yet to be explored. You will characterise these processes with a mixture of cell biology, proteomic assays, microscopy and spatial profiling technologies in cancer cell-lines and patient derived tissue biopsies.
Deadline : 8 February 2025
(13) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Carbon dioxide utilisation from captured industry emissions
Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is anticipated to be a key technology for enabling industrial decarbonisation. Critical industries such as glass and steel manufacture will continue to be significant emitters of CO2 for the foreseeable future. Carbon capture offers a way to mitigate the environmental impact and utilization provides a way to take a waste-molecule (CO2) and turn it into a useful product.
The overall objective of the project is to develop new electrochemical approaches to carbon dioxide utilization. Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction to useful fuels and feedstocks (e.g. CH4, CH3OH, CO) has been reported by numerous groups world-wide, including our own [1,2]. However integration with capture technologies is not yet viable. This studentship, which is part-funded by an industrial partner will explore the use of electrochemical approaches for both carbon dioxide capture and utilization. The successful candidate will work within our interdisciplinary research team to develop novel electrocatalysts/electrode structures and explore the viability of their deployment in real-world scenarios.
Deadline : 1 August 2024
(14) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Computational exploration of substrates and interfaces for thin film solar cells
In this PhD project you will aim to understand the interaction of the layers at the interface of the transparent conducting oxide and the solar absorbing material and how this effects optical properties. Using a combination of machine learning and physical modelling, the student will computationally investigate the band alignments between transport and solar absorber layers and the atomic structure of the interfaces between the two. They will study the effect on optical performance and potential device efficiency so that increased understanding will enable the discovery of new materials with improved properties. This material discovery will utilise novel approaches to compare the electronic structure of materials and leverage materials datasets recently developed by the team.
Deadline : 31 May 2024
(15) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Computational identification of catalytic covalent organic frameworks
Materials like zeolites, which have internal porosity, are widely used as catalysts. By containing chemical reactions within the pores of the material catalysts can be more selective and more active than catalysts in solution. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of crystalline, permanently porous, two-dimensional or three-dimensional polymers with tuneable topology and functionality. COFs containing catalytically active sites should exhibit the enhanced selectivity of other catalytic systems in which the substrate is confined within a pore, but confinement effects of catalytic COFs are relatively unexplored to date.
In this project high-throughput computational modelling will be used to identify COFs in which the size, shape and surface chemistry of internal porosity will allow access of the catalytic substrate to the active site and drive selectivity by reducing the number of accessible conformations for the substrate, transition state and product. The project will focus on COFs functionalised with metal-complexes for metallophotoredox catalysis and chiral organocatalysts for asymmetric photoredox organocatalysis.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(16) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Computationally driving automated functional materials discovery for net zero technologies with machine reasoning and decision-making
This project, suited to a student with a Computer Science or Mathematics background, will formally define the nature and consequences of the decisions that need to be made in the automated workflow and identify both the optimal combination of existing methods and tools to accelerate discovery and the gaps in capability that currently exist. The student will develop new methods and tools to address those gaps. Their project has the scope to span the entire process from initial suggestion of experimental targets through the autonomous assessment of experimental data produced by the automated workflow to the ultimate definition of experimental success in realising, rather than merely proposing, a new functional material. It offers the student the opportunity to both develop new methods and to participate in implementing them in a new workflow that will change how we find the materials that society will need in the future.
Deadline :30 June 2024
(17) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Deploying safer robot chemists in real laboratory environments
Robotic chemists [1] are a totally new and disruptive development in human-centric labs, and these systems are already beginning to carry out complex experiments that require skills beyond sample transportation (e.g., sample weighing [2] and scraping samples from vials [3]. This raises several interesting questions regarding safety in a mixed robot/human lab environment. We will address this here by developing novel methods for adding safety and environmental constraints within learned robotic skills, thus allowing robots to operate more efficiently in complex and variable multiuser human lab space. Specifically, the student will:
- Develop novel new methods for safer robotic chemists
- Deploy and validate the system in real-world materials discovery experiments (specifically, high-throughput crystallisation)
- Contribute to the ongoing research efforts at the UoL related to AI-driven robotic scientists
- Collaborate with external partners in our collaborative network of ongoing multidisciplinary projects (e.g., University of Toronto).
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(18) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Developing a framework for regulatory conformance of innovative experimental nuclear
Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) are a next-generation nuclear reactor technology outlined by Generation IV International Forum, fulfilling sustainability, economics, safety, and proliferation resistance goals. MSRs have drawn significant attention from industry and research communities in recent years due to the numerous safety, operational, and sustainability benefits. MSRs have the potential to close the nuclear fuel cycle, significantly reduce the amount of nuclear waste produced, and even operate on spent nuclear fuel from existing nuclear reactors, while opening the opportunity for significantly reducing the fuel cycle and the production cost of energy.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(19) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Developing a simulator for a zero power nuclear reactor experimental facility for innovative
In the frame of developing an innovative reactor system, a zero power experiment is the first important step, which, if successful, a stepping stone into a considerably large and complex programme. In addition, it is often seen as a low-cost and low-risk opportunity to study a novel reactor system. Among other things, the zero-power experiment could provide valuable data for validation and verification of nuclear codes, create an improved understanding of the developing system and prove its safety to the regulator. It will educate the UK in designing, licensing, constructing, commissioning, and operating a new kind of innovative reactor.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
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(20) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Developing industrial AI support tools for processing legal cases in medical negligence
Two PhD positions are available within a project that is co-created between the University of Liverpool and Fletchers Solicitors, a Law firm specialising in clinical negligence and personal injury law. As one of the UK’s largest firms in the sector, Fletchers have vast experience from handling legal cases over many years. Each one of their cases is made up of thousands of (unstructured) files – primarily word documents, PDFs and emails. As a result, interpreting their historical caseload and extracting new insight is incredibly challenging, which means that despite their vast experience as a firm, their lawyers often only have their past cases and understanding of the law to guide their decision making and work. Additionally, they spend a lot of time reading or reviewing files, writing drafts, or extracting key information from large bodies of text – as a ‘no win, no fee’ business, spending time only in the ‘right’ places is key to their success.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(21) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Developing Novel Machine Learning Methods for Equation of State Uncertainty Quantification
The proposed aim of the PhD is to develop a highly parallelisable Sequential Monte Carlo Samplers capability and apply it to a high dimensional posterior distribution from an externally generated likelihood function. This capability must be applicable to AWE HPC platforms and utilise gradient-free proposal distributions. Whilst the aim is defined, the successful candidate can guide the research activities in a direction that fulfils this mission. The likelihood is costly to evaluate, cannot be sampled, and gradients of the likelihood are intractable. The likelihood function is calculated from the agreement between experiments and a bulk, thermodynamic equation of state (EoS) for a material of interest. By the multiphase nature of the EoS the likelihood will contain discontinuities and have high sensitivities to some input parameters. The software will be tested by the application of this method to the multiphase material model for Tin performed on the HPC platforms at AWE.
Deadline : 31 May 2024
(22) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Development of a novel AI model for cardiovascular disease risk prediction by analysing retinal vascular structure and functional changes in blood flow
The retina is one of the most metabolically active organs in the body critically supported by ocular blood flow, while CVD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We aim to develop advanced AI models for analysing the dynamic retinal function, providing a comprehensive analysis of blood flow changes. Multi-modality data will be employed in this project, including imaging data (e.g., color fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiography) and non-imaging data (e.g., electronic health records). The research will delve into the intersection between AI and healthcare, developing new approaches to revolutionise our understanding of the relationship between retinal vascular structure, blood flow dynamics, and CVD.
Deadline : 31 August 2024
(23) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Development of bespoke algorithms for autonomous optimisation in flow
A key challenge in materials science is how to efficiently and sustainably arrive at the optimal conditions for material production. Flow chemistry’s unique control, spatio-temporal resolution, wide process windows and efficient heat/mass transport enables the selective, high-yielding, and scalable production of a wide range of molecules and, more recently, materials [1]. Algorithms have been used to autonomously optimise chemical processes, e.g., well-understood two-step reactions in flow. The production of materials offers complex optimisation problems, but it is difficult to know which approach (e.g. SNOBFIT, Bayesian optimisation, TSEMO) will perform best, even for simple problems. Thus, there is a need to develop bespoke optimisation algorithms for this application. In this PhD, design-of-experiments will be compared with self-optimising methods in terms of experimental efficiency for a range of organic materials under investigation in the Slater group. Algorithm choice and iterative development will be carried out to optimise the efficiency at which a) cost, product yield, and sustainability are optimised and b) a process model is generated.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(24) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Development of integration bridges between the clinic and the laboratory
The Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) is part of a network funded by Cancer Research UK and the NIHR, facilitating early phase cancer trials. The data from bench research in our centre and elsewhere is stored via Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), clinical information is stored separately during the trials to preserve patient anonymity and ensure blinding to outcomes when performing analyses. After the trials clinical data is archived but the samples remain in our post trials tissue bank for future research exploiting ever expanding technology and scientific discoveries.
Deadline : 31 July 2024
(25) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Development of nanoparticle-adjuvant and antigen-matching autogenous vaccine for Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and comparative evaluation against other MG live and inactivated vaccines
Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) causes respiratory and reproductive diseases in poultry. This results in poor health, production and raises welfare concerns. For more than half centuries, University of Liverpool is well-known for its expertise in avian mycoplasma, from conventional and molecular laboratory techniques to diagnosis and control of the disease in the farms. We are recently awarded with a 4-year PhD studentship from the British Egg Marketing Board (BEMB).
The PhD would suit someone with a keen interest in microbiology and molecular biology. Studies may include the followings:
- Epidemiological investigation of avian mycoplasmas circulating in UK poultry farms using culture, isolation and identification/differentiation using conventional and molecular techniques.
- Genomic analysis of the most prevalent Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) isolated from the poultry farms in UK, and expression of immunodominant surface proteins from that mycoplasma isolate/stain in an coli expression system.
- Preparation of CHT NPAs/NCMPs experimental vaccine for each protein, and a mixture of all three (3-in-1) recombinant vaccines.
- Evaluation of the inhibitory effect of each vaccine candidate on pathogenic MG using tracheal organ culture (TOC).
- In vivo evaluation of the protective efficacy of each of the NPA vaccine and ‘combination’ of all the NPA vaccines in a) specific-pathogen free (SPF) chickens, b) commercial layer hens.
- To cross compare the results of above (5) against other available MG vaccines in UK.
- Determination of underlying protective immune mechanisms following MG in vivo vaccination and in vaccination-challenged birds.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(26) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Development of NMR Methods for the Study of Dynamics in Solids
One fully funded PhD studentship is available in the area of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of solids. The position is available for 42-months starting in October 2024. This opportunity will remain open until the position has been filled and so early applications are encouraged.
NMR is an indispensable analytical science tool for a wide range of applications across the physical sciences and beyond. To exploit this technique to its full potential, increased sensitivity (the relative intensity of the NMR signals vs the noise level) and resolution (the smallest peak separation that can be measured) are needed and delivered at higher external magnetic field. This PhD project will explore the opportunities available in MAS NMR at ultra high-field NMR to develop the needed advanced methodologies required to study dynamics, such as ionic diffusion, molecular reorientation, crystallisation phenomena and gas adsorption, in solid materials. The work builds on the strong dual NMR and materials science expertise and track record of the supervisor.
Deadline : 3 June 2024
(27) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Digital discovery of new photocatalysts for photoredox catalysis
Photoredox catalysis has come to the forefront in organic synthesis as a powerful strategy for the activation of small molecules [1]. Photocatalysts convert visible light into chemical energy by engaging in single-electron transfer with organic substrates, thereby generating reactive intermediates for bond forming reactions under mild conditions. The design and discovery of efficient organic photocatalysts is a major challenge and has drawn significant interest in recent years. In this project, the student will use a high-throughput virtual screening approach developed by the Troisi group [2] to search chemical databases to identify new potential organic photocatalysts with similar optoelectronic properties to existing state-of-the-art photocatalysts. The candidate molecules from this search will be purchased and their photocatalytic activity validated in a range of photoredox catalysed reactions using electrochemical techniques and optimised using robotic platforms [3] in the Materials Innovation Factory. Successful implementation of this approach will open up exciting possibilities for the development of inexpensive, sustainable, and scalable alternative photocatalysts for use in pharmaceutical drug development programmes.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(28) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Digital Exploration of Novel Polymeric Materials for Structural Composites
Structural composites materials are used in a vast number of applications from aerospace to sport and recreation. Their polymeric constituent is in the majority of cases made by materials formed by epoxy-aromatic amine chemistry while there are many alternative chemistries, which are, in principle, capable of similar or better performances and can be more sustainable. The chemical space to explore is so vast and the current technologies so well developed that it is impossible to find viable alternatives in reasonable time with conventional methods. The goal of this project is to develop digital tools comprising AI methods, cheminformatics, high-throughput virtual screening, to explore the potential of novel polymeric materials in these applications. The project will give the opportunity of interacting with our industrial partner, a multinational research-intensive organization, and be involved in the experimental testing of the predictions. The supervisory team will include experts in AI/Cheminformatics (Prof. Neil Berry), Polymer Chemistry (Dr. Tom Hasell) and Materials Engineering/Composite Materials (Dr. Esther Garcia-Tuñon).
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(29) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Digital Routes to Next Generation Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells
This project will develop an automated computational workflow for the discovery of new electrolyte and electrode materials for solid oxide cells. The workflow will combine crystal structure prediction for composition stability determination and computational modelling of key properties including oxide conductivity and mechanical stability. This physical modelling will be supported by machine learning from databases already available to the project team and from the arising modelling data, extending to the use of large language models. Machine learning techniques such as supervised learning and semi-supervised learning will potentially be employed to learn complex representations from both labelled and unlabelled data and to predict material properties. Generative models, such as generative adversarial networks and diffusion models, will potentially be used for generating new material compositions with optimised properties. The student will have the opportunity to synthesise and evaluate the new materials as well as developing computational skills, thus developing a broad expertise base. They will work with an interdisciplinary team at Liverpool and Ceres Power to maximise the impact of the project. This new approach builds on recently established capability from the team [1,2] applied in this exciting new direction for net zero technologies.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(30) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Discovery of Functional Inorganic Materials for Net Zero Applications using High-Throughput Synthesis
The project will involve the preparation of precursor slurries and solutions for dispensing and mixing on robotic platforms before reacting at high temperatures for characterisation on high-throughput powder X-ray diffractometers and other analytical techniques. The project will involve close collaboration with computational chemists to suggest compositional spaces to explore, to predict new structures and aid in the understanding of the properties of the new materials discovered in the arrays using tools developed in the multi-disciplinary EPSRC Programme Grant: “Digital Navigation of Chemical Space for Function” and the Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design, that seek to develop a new approach to materials design and discovery, exploiting machine learning and symbolic artificial intelligence, demonstrated by the realisation of new functional inorganic materials. You will thus gain understanding of how the artificial intelligence methods developed in the team accelerate materials discovery, and be able to contribute to the development of these models, which are designed to incorporate human expertise.
Deadline : 31 December 2024
(31) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Electrochemically switchable materials down to the single molecule level
This project will study the electrochemical properties of materials down to the single molecule level and it will investigate how electrochemical (redox state) switching of the molecules can change useful materials properties. This studentship is part of £7.1 million EPSRC-funded Programme grant “Quantum engineering of energy-efficient molecular materials (QMol)”, https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/X026876/1 , which involves the Universities of Lancaster, Liverpool, Oxford and Imperial College, and the group of Professor Richard Nichols at the Department of Chemistry, The University of Liverpool. This PhD project at Liverpool University (Department of Chemistry) will focus on electrochemistry for molecular/organic electronics and thermoelectrics and will include the measurement of the electrochemical and electrical properties of molecular materials from single molecules to self-assembled monolayers and bulk multilayer structures. Techniques to be used in the project include electrochemical methods, scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscopy (STM and AFM), surface spectroscopies and nanofabrication. The QMol Programme Grant aims to realise a new generation of switchable organic/organometallic compounds, with the potential to fulfil societal needs for flexible energy harvesting materials, low-power neuromorphic computing, smart textiles and self-powered patches for healthcare.
Deadline : 1 August 2024
(32) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Elucidation of a new pathological mechanism for brittle bone disease
The incidence of the brittle bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is estimated to be around 1 in 10,000 individuals. The phenotypic spectrum of OI ranges from mild to perinatal lethal and includes extra-skeletal connective tissue manifestations.
Molecular mechanisms held responsible for OI include insufficiencies or defects in the bone collagenous extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as osteoblast dysfunction caused by overload of protein degradation pathways. Intracellular alterations can include over-modification of the procollagen molecule, activation of branches of the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway or the integrated stress response, canonical or non-canonical autophagy and cytoskeletal alterations.
Deadline : 1 March 2025
(33) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Experimental discovery of new Inorganic Materials for Net Zero Technologies
This PhD project will tackle the synthesis in the laboratory of inorganic materials with unique structures that will expand our understanding of how atoms can be arranged in solids. The selection of experimental targets will be informed by artificial intelligence and computational assessment of candidates, working with a multidisciplinary team of researchers to maximise the rate of materials discovery. The resulting materials will be experimentally studied to assess their suitability in a wide range of applications, combining our broad materials characterisation expertise with that of our international industrial and academic collaborators. The student will thus both develop a strong materials synthesis, structural characterisation and measurement skillset, and the ability to work with colleagues across disciplines in a research team using state-of-the-art materials design methodology. The success of this approach is demonstrated in a range of papers involving the discovery of a new lithium solid electrolyte for all solid state batteries (Science 383, 739, 2024), solid electrolytes with high electrochemical stability (Journal of the American Chemical Society 143, 18216, 2021), lithium conducting oxide argyrodites that demonstrate enhanced stability over sulphide materials (Journal of the American Chemical Society 144, 22178, 2022), and the realisation of the lowest ever thermal conductivity of any inorganic crystalline material (Science 373, 1017, 2021). We have recently developed a high throughput solid state synthetic workflow which will further accelerate the discovery of new inorganic oxide materials (Chemical Science 15, 2640, 2014), closing the workflow where initial target selection is informed by artificial intelligence.
Deadline : 31 July 2024
(34) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Experimental Discovery of New Ionic Conducting Materials Towards Net-Zero Technologies
Materials that allow the rapid motion of ions are essential for the new energy technologies needed to meet the challenge of net zero, such as batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers for green hydrogen. We have recently discovered a new lithium solid electrolyte that changes previous understanding of how to design fast ion transport in solid state materials (Science 383, 739, 2024). This project will explore the enormous range of possibilities for the synthesis of new lithium- and magnesium-ion conducting materials based on this discovery. It will combine synthetic solid-state chemistry, advanced structural analysis, and measurement of the conductivity and electrochemical properties of the new materials, enabling the successful candidate to develop a diverse experimental skillset. The student will participate in the selection of synthetic targets as part of a multidisciplinary team that combine artificial intelligence and computational methods with chemical understanding to design new materials – the process that led to our recent discovery, which the student will have the opportunity to participate in and improve.
Deadline : 31 July 2024
(35) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Explaining structure-property relations in the materials space
This project aims to explain important materials properties from geometric invariants of crystal structures. Crystalline materials can be represented by invariants that distinguished different phases and polymorphs of all periodic materials in the Cambridge Structural Database and all known homometric structures with identical diffraction.
These structural invariants [1] are provably invertible to a full 3-dimensional structure for all generic crystals and implemented by our industry partner Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre.
The next frontier is to understand the structure-property relationships by mapping important properties (energy, conductivity, adsorption capacity etc.) in the materials space as mountainous landscapes on a geographic-style map parametrised by the structural invariants.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(36) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Exploring the interactions between host and bacterial kinase signalling networks
This multidisciplinary studentship will focus on biochemical characterisation of eSTKs, initially concentrating on secreted kinases of the opportunistic pathogen Legionella pneumophilia, and will provide training in the areas of biochemistry, molecular/cellular kinase biology and mass-spectrometry-based (phospho)proteomics. In this project, you will isolate secreted bacterial eSTKs using a variety of industry standard protein purification methodologies, and subject them to detailed biochemical characterisation using analytical techniques traditionally used to study human protein kinases, to improve our molecular understanding of these enigmatic signalling molecules. Crucially, the disease profile of L. pneumophilia also involves secretion of functionally diverse virulence effectors, including eSTKs, into the cytoplasm of a host cell. The student will also use LC-MS/MS-based (phospho)proteomic assays, in conjunction with proximity interactome analysis, to decipher host-pathogen interaction networks in mammalian overexpression systems and gain insights into the disease processes that promote intracellular survival of invading L. pneumophilia.
Deadline : 1 July 2024
(37) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Exploring tyrosine metabolism as a source of oxidative stress
We are seeking a motivated researcher to work on a pioneering project investigating the role of oxidative stress associated with tyrosine metabolism.
Our cells are constantly exposed to stress in various forms. A major group of stressors is those that induce oxidative damage to cells and their constituents, including UV radiation from sunlight and environmental pollutants. The project will explore the novel idea that that molecules associated with the amino acid tyrosine are previously unrecognised sources of oxidative stress.
Dr Norman and colleagues have discovered that a specific breakdown product of tyrosine is a direct source of free radicals1. In patients with a genetic condition known as alkaptonuria (AKU) that causes lifelong exposure to this oxidative molecule, there is marked alteration to anti-oxidant pathways and greater incidence of devastating degenerative disorders including osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease2,3.
Deadline : 1 March 2025
(38) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Funded PhD studentship opportunity in vibroacoustics
Applications are invited for a postgraduate student to join the Acoustics Research Unit at the University of Liverpool for a three-year funded scholarship to carry out research that will lead to the award of PhD.
The PhD scholarship is funded by Malcolm Crocker, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University, who is one of the world’s foremost experts in acoustics and vibration. Professor Crocker gained his doctorate from the ARU at the University of Liverpool in 1969 on the topic of the response of structures to acoustic excitation and the transmission of sound and vibration. The Acoustics Research Unit is based in a laboratory complex containing test chambers designed primarily for research and are furnished with a full range of instrumentation for measuring sound, vibration and material properties.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(39) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Gaining mechanistic insights into Atrial Fibrillation: Bench to bedside approaches
Atrial IP3 signalling can be pro-arrhythmic. IP3 signalling can cause pro-arrhythmic conditions, but 2-APB an inhibitor of IP3R has shown to reduce AF incidence in rabbits. IP3-dependent stimulation generates Ca2+ events in healthy cells. Inhibitors targeting the renin-angiotensin-system, which stimulates IP3 production, have been found to decrease the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in certain patient groups. In this project, the broad aims include:
- The study aims to explore the pathophysiological mechanisms of IP3 signalling of a familial form of AF using patient-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
- To conduct omics studies on human tissue biopsies to identify pathological IP3 signalling in paroxysmal and persistent AF
- To identify novel drug candidates and test them on the hiPSC-CMs (developed in Aim 1)
Deadline : 1 July 2024
(40) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Heat, Health and Human Geographies: Exploring Caribbean Responses to Urban Heat Stress through Creative Ethnographic Methods
The University of Liverpool invites applications for a fully funded PhD studentship to conduct a piece of ethnographic research exploring the experiences, responses to and understandings of health and increasing urban heat in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The PhD student will define and undertake a 3-year research project to explore the embodied experiences of and responses to urban heat stress and develop and expand traditional ethnographic methods (interviews, observations etc) alongside creative and arts-based research methodologies.
Deadline : 28 June 2024
(41) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: High power laser development
This PhD project will contribute to a major Ministry of Defence (MoD) research programme intended to develop generation after next technologies for applications in defence and security, and is co-funded by Qinetiq.
The project will focus on creating high-energy, high-repetition-rate lasers. It will involve the student working with optical fibre lasers operating at 1mm and combining the output of these systems using polarisation combination to create one output beam. The project aims to harness the major advantages of chirped pulsed amplifier Yb fibre lasers over other solid-state systems by using combination technologies to increase the low (nJ – mJ) energy output into J level pulses at kHz repetition rates. This performance is unobtainable with current systems and the project involves working at the forefront of laser technology to drive innovative development and performance.
Deadline :31 May 2024
(42) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: High-throughput discovery of new materials as functional coatings on glass for net-zero applications
This studentship will develop and implement a high-throughput magnetron sputtering workflow for optoelectronic materials discovery as thin film coatings on glass. The functionalisation of glass and glazing with coatings is at the forefront of technological advances in the transition to net-zero, such as energy saving glazing, display technologies and grid-scale photovoltaic devices. To maintain the pace of advancements in these technologies, and to open up new opportunities and markets, new materials with superior optical and electronic properties are required as thin films. Arrays of compositionally variable samples will be deposited onto substrates for automated powder X-ray diffraction and further property measurements, building on our existing workflows for array deposition and diffraction measurement of films. The project will involve the design and engineering implementation of automated measurements, e.g. sheet resistance, optical transmission, ellipsometry, on the sample arrays, and associated digital tools for data analysis at scale. The group has a track record of developing and implementing high throughput workflows for materials discovery [1-3] and in thin film optoelectronic materials [4] and this project builds on that expertise. This project is sponsored by NSG/Pilkington, a global glass manufacturing company with a leading position in coated glass products.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(43) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: High-throughput exploration of multicomponent metal organic frameworks (MOFs)
New porous materials are important for advances in key technologies such as carbon dioxide sequestration and storage or catalysts for clean manufacturing. The assembly of multiple metal and organic linkers in the well-defined and complex crystal structures of multicomponent metal organic frameworks (MOFs) will deliver materials with enhanced properties. However, at present we do not have the experimental tools with the scale and speed to efficiently explore the vast chemical space available. This project will harness recent advances in robotics to efficiently explore the discovery of new multicomponent MOFs. The student will design and execute experiments on state-of-the-art robotic synthesis platforms, develop the required measurement approaches to extract and analyse data from the arrays of materials.
Deadline : 31 December 2024
(44) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: High-throughput first-principle simulations of charge transport in organic semiconductors
This project focuses on application of first-principle, fully quantum simulation methods such as Hybrid Monte-Carlo to study charge transport in a vast class of quasi-2D molecular organic semiconductors (rubrene, pentacene, and >4000 other materials). The goal is to make the simulations as realistic as possible based on our seminal work [1], and to use realistic simulations to automatically search for high-mobility, technologically promising compounds within digital structural databases of organic molecular crystals. Molecular semiconductors are promising candidates for large-area electronic devices (solar panels, lighting). They feature an unusual charge transport mechanism that is driven by dynamical disorder, and that is of general theoretical interest. The project is cross-disciplinary in nature and has many intersections with Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics simulations in high-energy physics.
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(45) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: High-Throughput Soft Matter Characterisation for Formulation Discovery
Direct Ink Writing (DIW), extrusion-based 3D printing, is a rapidly developing processing technique for additive manufacturing of advanced, functional materials into complex designs. Integral to the successful discovery of new materials for DIW is the ability to rapidly screen chemical parameter spaces of precursor “ink” formulations. This project will experimentally develop and implement automation protocols for rheometry and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to establish a library of carbohydrate-based cytocompatible polymers (e.g. alginates) and crosslinking chemistries (divalent ions, thiol-ene click) suitable for bioprinting. This will facilitate the high-throughput measurements required to screen green, multicomponent formulations with complex flow behaviours which are both challenging to formulate and characterise. New digital tools will be developed to process the large datasets generated and implement our novel data analyses [e.g. Physics of Fluids, 2023 35, 017113]. In doing so, new insights into relationships between materials chemistry, formulation microstructure, rheology, and macroscale “printability” will be established [J. Mater. Chem. A., 2020, 8 (31), 15646-15657].
Deadline : 30 June 2024
(46) PhD Degree – Fully Funded
PhD position summary/title: Knowledge-based Design of Dental Surfaces to combat Oral Biofilms
This 4-year BBSRC PhD studentship is a collaboration between University of Liverpool & Unilever R&D.
Oral diseases are among the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide, affecting an estimated 3.5 billion people. There are major scientific challenges in understanding how protective technologies can be designed and fabricated so that oral biofilms can be controlled to prevent oral diseases. This interdisciplinary project will investigate the protective effect of natural materials that have gained increasing interest, due to their abundant availability and environmentally friendly and biodegradable characteristics. This project will aim to advance this technology by combining advanced imaging and spectroscopic techniques in both Physical Sciences and Life Sciences to understand the how modifications of dental surfaces can be created with precision control on model tooth surfaces and how bacteria and model oral biofilms interact and behave at these surfaces so that their efficacy and mode of action can be understood.
The PhD student will be based at the Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool and will work within the Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces and the Surface Science Research Centre.
Deadline : 15 June 2024
About The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England –Official Website
The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL; locally known as The Uni of) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded as a college in 1881, it gained its Royal Charter in 1903 with the ability to award degrees, and is also known to be one of the six ‘red brick’ civic universities, the first to be referred to as The Original Red Brick. It comprises three faculties organised into 35 departments and schools. It is a founding member of the Russell Group, the N8 Group for research collaboration and the university management school is triple crown accredited.
Ten Nobel Prize winners are amongst its alumni and past faculty and the university offers more than 230 first degree courses across 103 subjects. Its alumni include the CEOs of GlobalFoundries, ARM Holdings, Tesco, Motorola and The Coca-Cola Company. It was the UK’s first university to establish departments in oceanography, civic design, architecture, and biochemistry (at the Johnston Laboratories). In 2006 the university became the first in the UK to establish an independent university in China, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, making it the world’s first Sino-British university. For 2021–22, Liverpool had a turnover of £612.6 million, including £113.6 million from research grants and contracts. It has the seventh-largest endowment of any university in England. Graduates of the university are styled with the post-nominal letters Lpool, to indicate the institution.
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