PhD Genetics and Genomics

Your research degree is bespoke at the University of Nottingham, and allows you to choose your own area of interest to research, under the title of your choosing.

Our Genetics and Genomics grouping is made up of the following available PhD and MRes courses:

Our supervisors in the school are at the forefront of research in their fields. Utilising industry standard facilities, along with cutting edge equipment, and the guidance of our supervisors, you will advance the area of life sciences that interests you.

Your degree and research area is bespoke to you, however, our supervisors can provide projects in many areas of current interest in genetics and genomics, ranging from fundamental questions in cell biology to variation and disease in humans. Some of the fields our supervisors are already researching include:

You can find our about our specific research in the course content section.

Post-graduate Community

Here in the School of Life Sciences we’re committed to supporting our students’ wellbeing to ensure that your experience studying with us is the best it can be. Whether you’re studying silk-weaving spiders or looking for new ways to fight infection, we want all of our students to feel part of our vibrant and diverse research community.

There are loads of opportunities to meet your fellow researchers and get involved with student activities and projects during your time at the University of Nottingham including:

PhD or MRes?

PhD programmes allow you to research a topic that interests them over the span of 3-4 years. You will be required to submit a thesis on your work at the end of your research period and take part in a viva voce examination. This is a fantastic opportunity to research an area that is unique to your interests, and help that field grow.

Masters by Research (MRes) programmes allow you to undertake a substantial amount of independent research while gaining 20 credits of transferable skills training over the span of 12 months. The programmes are flexible in nature and allow you to take some additional accredited taught credits, in consultation with your supervisor.

Defining my research area

If you have a particular research area you are interested in, you should start by emailing a relevant supervisor below and talking through your interests with them. You can see further details on our MRes and PhD titles below.

After you have done your research you can contact a relevant supervisor.

The School of Life Sciences has many research groups doing pioneering work in genetics, ranging across a broad diversity of relevant topics.

Research within the school on ecological and evolutionary aspects of genetics includes:

Population genetics studies the genetic variation that exists in wild populations, and the forces, such as selection, mutation and genetic drift, that shape this variation. Particular interests in the School involve:

Some of the research in medical genetics in the school includes:

Research interests within the school include:

The evolutionary and behavioural ecology of insects and mammals and other species

Evolution and importance of sex in fungi

The interface between evolution and development

Evolution of colour polymorphism and left right asymmetry in snails

Evolutionary genetics of spider silk

Evolution of ladybird colour polymorphism genes

Evolutionary genetics of stickleback-parasite interactions

Evolution of sex in wild populations of fungi

With whole genome sequences being available for numerous organisms across all kingdoms of life, numerous questions concerning genome evolution to gene function, phylogenetic relationships to genetic and metabolic networks, genotype to phenotype of complex traits, can be addressed through comparative genomics.

The School of Life Sciences is at the forefront of this research and you will be working alongside your supervisors to answer the questions surrounding genomics.

Researchers within the School of Life Sciences use bioinformatic analysis of related genomes to lead them to testable hypotheses. You will be helping these experts in their work an helping develop this rapidly growing scientific area. Research available covers all of these areas and will use our expertise and resources on genome sequences to yeasts and fungi.

Some of the research areas we are interested in are:

Within the human molecular genetics area, there is an emphasis on the role of repetitive DNA sequences in health and disease, and in chromosome stability. Some of our research areas include:

Molecular genetics is the study of genes at the molecular level. It focuses on the processes that underlie the expression of the genetic information from the DNA into the functional proteins that execute the genetic programme.

Within the School of Life Sciences, research in molecular genetics is concentrated in the human genetics, fungal biology, and developmental genetics and gene control groups. In the human genetics group, research in this area includes:

In the fungal biology group, there are studies on:

The developmental genetics and gene control group focuses on the mechanisms of eukaryotic gene expression and the genetics of vertebrate embryonic development. Developmental studies are focused largely upon the mechanisms that control stem cell fate. Projects on the control of gene expression address the machinery used by cells to achieve appropriate levels of functional transcripts. These studies include control of transcription and the mechanisms of RNA maturation.