Plant BioDesign is a UKRI-funded Engineering Biology Doctoral Focal Award (DFA). This innovative programme will train the next generation of scientists to design and engineer plants that tackle global challenges in food security, clean growth, and environmental sustainability.
Building on the UK’s global strengths in plant science and synthetic biology, the programme brings together world-leading researchers at the universities of York, Cambridge and Bristol and the John Innes Centre. Plant BioDesign offers a unique four-year PhD training programme in plant engineering biology.
Through interdisciplinary research, industry collaboration, inclusive training and professional skills development, postgraduate researchers (PGRs) will gain the skills to lead innovation across academia, industry and policy — realising the potential of programmable plants for the bioeconomy of the future.
Research Projects
Plant BioDesign research projects use plant engineering and/or develop tools for plant engineering with a focus on addressing major global challenges aligned with the UK’s National Engineering Biology Programme. These include:
• Clean growth – photosynthetic biomanufacturing of proteins and natural products
• Resilient food systems – engineering of agricultural traits such as defence and photosynthesis
• Platform technologies – development of new tools for gene editing, large-scale screening and synthetic control systems
Projects are interdisciplinary, combining expertise in molecular biology, data science, computational modelling, biochemistry and engineering to drive innovation in plant systems design. Each PGR will be able to co-create and develop their research project with their supervisory team to align with personal goals and scientific interests.
All PGRs will have access to state-of-the-art facilities across the four partner institutions, including advanced plant growth environments, high-performance computing, automated systems, and cutting-edge microscopy and -omics platforms.
Training Environment
Plant BioDesign offers a stimulating and inclusive training environment combining academic excellence, industrial engagement, and career development opportunities.
Training is integrated throughout the four-year studentship and designed to align with research progress. This flexible, modular approach ensures that PGRs can access training when it is most relevant, supporting continuous professional and technical development.
We have established partnerships with over 20 non-academic organisations across industry, policy, and innovation. These partners will contribute to the co-creation and delivery of projects, placements and training in entrepreneurship, intellectual property and responsible innovation.
Apply HERE by January 20th 2026