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Deadline: 29 November 2026
South West, All England
This project is one of a number in competition for a studentship from the Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath. If successful, this studentship is expected to commence 04 October 2027.
An alternative start date may be possible if agreed with your intended supervisors and the Doctoral College.
The agrifood system generates around one third of global greenhouse emissions [1]. For this reason, sustainable food systems are needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change [2]. Sustainability is core to the University of Bath’s Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub’s mission to revolutionise the food system [3]. Circularity and valorisation of so-called waste nutrient streams can play a vital role in the development of sustainable cellular agriculture processes.
A core enabling technology in cellular agriculture is precision fermentation, whereby microbial strains are cultured to produce a vast range of food products, including oils and proteins. With the emergence of functional genomics and mathematical models of cell metabolic networks, there is the potential to expedite the development of novel precision fermentation strains and processes, that use non-traditional feedstocks derived from so-called agricultural waste streams.
The goal of this project is to develop genome scale metabolic models (GEM) of industrially relevant microbial strains, to enable precision fermentation processes that use agricultural and/or cell culture waste nutrients as their feedstock. This is a novel approach to precision fermentation in cellular agriculture. These GEMs will also facilitate future in silico gene editing of microbial strains and culture media cost reduction.
Focus areas:
1. GEM Development: The doctoral researcher will develop base GEMs for an industrially relevant precision fermentation microbial strain (e.g. Yarrowia lipolytica).
2. Bench-Scale Fermentations: The researcher will conduct microbial fermentations using different ‘waste’ feedstocks, that generate transcriptomic and metabolomic datasets to contextualise the GEM.
3. Waste Valorisation: The researcher will use the curated GEM to determine nutrient additives that enable microbial economically sufficient cell growth using the ‘waste’ feedstocks and validate the effectiveness of the ‘waste’ feedstock formulations in yeast fermentation.
Applicants must have, or be about to obtain, a UK Honours degree 1st or 2.1, or international equivalent. A master’s level qualification would also be advantageous.
We welcome applicants with a First-Class or 2:1 master’s level degree (MEng or MSc) in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Computer Science or a closely related discipline. We may also consider applicants who have a First-Class BSc/BEng (Hons) and can demonstrate significant relevant industry/research experience. Experience (or strong interest) in any of the following is highly valued:
• Genome scale metabolic models
• Programming and data analysis (Python/MATLAB)
• Microbial fermentation (e.g. yeast, E. coli) and/or cell cultivation
• Culture media development and analysis
Non-UK applicants, who are not currently studying in the UK, must meet the programme’s English language requirement before the application deadline – no exceptions will be considered.
Applicants will be considered for a studentship. Studentships cover tuition fees, provide a £1k per annum training support fee, and a maintenance stipend (£21,805 2026/27 rate). International students will be required to cover the cost of a Student visa and Immigration Health Surcharge from personal funds
o Informal enquiries are encouraged. Direct these to supervisor email address Akin Odeleye - [email protected]
Please follow the below instructions carefully.
You must make a formal application via the University of Bath’s online application form for a
Please note that you can apply for a maximum of two PhD projects on this programme.
In the ‘Funding Your Studies’ section, you must select ‘University of Bath URSA’ from one of the drop-down menus.
In the ‘Your PhD project’ section, you must quote the project title in the PhD project title field, and you must quote the lead supervisor’s name in the field ‘Name of intended supervisor at University of Bath.’
If you are applying for two projects, you must quote the project title for your second choice project in the field ‘Project 2 Title’ and the lead supervisor’s name in ‘Name of intended supervisor for 2nd choice project at University of Bath.
You must ensure that you follow the above steps correctly. Failure to complete these steps will cause errors in the automated processing of your application and may mean that you are not considered for a particular project.
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The Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath has studentships available for Home and Overseas students. However, in line with UKRI policy, the number of studentships available to Overseas students are capped.
Wed 11 Nov 2026