Postgraduate research opportunities

Our impact-focused research aims to address the major challenges of growing global demand for food and nutrition security, climate change and dwindling natural resources. This covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, along with economics, business and resource management.

Postgraduate research (PGR) students make a valuable contribution to SRUC’s research programmes. Thanks to close ties with industry, our students benefit from building important networks and enjoy many varied employment opportunities after completing their studies with us. Discover more about our research outputs by visiting our research hub, SRUC’s Pure Portal.

MScR opportunities

There are currently no MScR opportunities being offered. Please continue to check back here for updates.

PhD opportunities

This PhD project is a fully funded four-year studentship by the BARIToNE Collaborative Training Partnership (from September 2025) and offered in partnership between SRUC and Suntory Global Spirits. The successful student will receive a full UKRI stipend (currently £19,237) also covering tuition fees, training, and travel budget.

Start date: September 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Jennifer Carfrae (SRUC), Dr Maciej Kaczmarek (SRUC), Alistair Longwell (Suntory Global Spirits)

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 19 January 2025

Description: In 2019, production of whisky by-products was estimated to be 443kt, with 280kt of this fed to Anaerobic Digestion and Combined Heat and Power. The abundant organic carbon content of digestate makes it an ideal source for production of biochar which in turn offers potential for improved soil carbon quality and enhanced nutrient and water absorption.

There is recognition in Scotland of the need to rapidly transition to net-zero emissions to tackle climate change and support future resilience across industries. Key areas of strategic focus are on land management for soil heath whilst maintaining production levels, and to achieve this there is need for robust longer-term studies on sustainable soil management solutions and innovation. Biochar offers multiple benefits that could support the Scotch Whisky Industry’s net zero goal through provision of renewable energy and supporting on-land offset. These benefits include longer term carbon storage, reduced emissions and pollution, production of renewable energy, together with enhancing crop yield.

This multidisciplinary PhD will establish a demonstration site of this innovative technology and explore the potential benefits to the whisky industry in their progress toward circular economy readiness and net zero. The impact of whisky by-product biochar and microbial interactions on soil and crop health will be appraised using glasshouse experiments and longer-term field trials and will be supported by evaluation of cost and environmental efficiency of both biochar production and application.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

International applicants and candidates from non-English speaking countries will need to meet the minimum language requirements for admission onto the programme of study. These can be found in the Entry Requirements section of the PhD in Agriculture, Rural and Environmental Studies webpage.

Application Process:

Applications to the BARIToNE CTP programme are made via the form which can be found on our website: https://baritone.hutton.ac.uk/how-to-apply/

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Jennifer Carfrae at Jennifer.Carfrae@sruc.ac.uk

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

This PhD project is a fully funded four-year studentship by the BARIToNE Collaborative Training Partnership (from Sept. 2025) and offered in partnership between SRUC and MAGB. The successful student will receive a full UKRI stipend (currently £19,237) also covering tuition fees, training, and travel budget.

Start date: September 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Professor Neil Havis (SRUC), Dr Steve Hoad (SRUC), Dr Julian South (Maltsters' Association of Great Britain (MAGB))

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 19 January 2025

Description: Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites found in cereals and other plants. They are toxic to humans so their levels must be carefully managed in food and drink. The project aims to understand the relationship between sustainable agriculture practices and mycotoxin production in barley. It will then use the knowledge gained to devise strategies for control of mycotoxins in regenerative farming systems. The project will encompass field studies, both at the commercial and experimental scale. Aspects of regenerative farming that will be included for study are tailored agrochemical use, direct drilling of seeds, pros and cons of field margins and modifying the crop rotation. The project will include samples from a wide geography since there are differences due to soil and climatic variables. In addition, there are differences in agriculture support mechanisms across UK regions which will impact the agricultural methods employed and these will be compared within the project. The project will utilise existing analytical methods for mycotoxin analysis at a partner laboratory, which have been developed over many years and are readily available at the scale required for the project.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Applications to the BARIToNE CTP programme are made via the form which can be found on our website: https://baritone.hutton.ac.uk/how-to-apply/

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Professor Neil Havis at Neil.Havis@sruc.ac.uk

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Luis Novo (SRUC), Attila Molnar (School of Biological Sciences, UoE), Maciej Kaczmarek (SRUC)

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 6 January 2025

Description: Gold mining has historically been associated with environmental degradation, water contamination, and socio-economic challenges [1]. As a sustainable alternative, gold phytomining presents an avenue where plants can be used to extract gold from soil, especially in waste sites with sub-economic gold concentrations [2]. One promising area within this field is the potential use of cyanogenic plants. These plants produce cyanogenic glycosides that, when hydrolysed, release hydrogen cyanide [3], a compound known to enhance the solubility of gold [4], thereby potentially improving its bioavailability and subsequent uptake by plants. Moreover, cyanogenic microbes can further aid in enhancing gold phytoavailability.

Given the significance of this mechanism, understanding the molecular basis behind cyanogenesis is pivotal. This doctoral project aims to explore the genetic and molecular aspects of cyanogenic plants and microbes and their potential for gold phytomining. Employing molecular biology techniques, the research will investigate the expression and regulation of genes associated with cyanogenic activity. Specifically, it will focus on the up-regulation or down-regulation of these genes under various environmental conditions and its correlation with increased gold uptake [4,5]. This project is not only set to refine our understanding of plant-metal interactions at a molecular level but also has the potential to pioneer a greener approach to gold recovery from low-grade ores or tailings [6].

Eligibility:
For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

• an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

• a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

To apply for an SRUC PhD studentship, please follow the guidance below. The SRUC Doctoral College can provide you with support for your application.

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Luis Novo – Luis.Novo@sruc.ac.uk

Applications are to be submitted via the University of Edinburgh application portal: https://e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/supervisor-led-projects/project?item=1618. Applicants are asked to read the full project description before applying.

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Arthy Surendran (SRUC), Professor Neil Havis (SRUC), Laura Ross (School of Biological Sciences - Institute of Evolutionary Biology, UoE) Matt Elliot (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh)

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 6 January 2025

Description: As the UK transitions towards a ban on peat in plant-growing media, the adoption of more sustainable alternatives such as wood fibre, wood chips, and green compost has led to a rise in the prevalence of fungus gnats in glasshouse environments, where they can become significant pests. Despite their growing impact, fungus gnat has been one of the least studied and understood families of Diptera in the British fauna. This lack of research has sparked numerous questions about their biology, behaviour, and virulence, especially about their increased presence in peat-free growing media.

This project will investigate and identify various fungus gnat species present in the glasshouse setting in the UK by employing metabarcoding. The most prevalent species will be selected to study their biology, lifecycle and virulence. Further, the bionomics of the selected species with respect to the peat alternatives will be studied in detail. With special attention to the diet, the shift in fungus gnat's diet from fungi and algae to living plant cells marks a critical turning point, enabling them to transition from being mere nuisances to significant agricultural pests. This dietary adaptation allows them to damage crops and ornamental plants, intensifying their threat. Muti-omics such as genomics and proteomics tools will be utilised to study the underlying mechanisms.

Finally, the project will evaluate the existing control strategies and develop new environmentally friendly control methods. This includes the production of sterile males or traps utilising the pheromones/volatiles, phototaxis etc.

Eligibility:
For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

An undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
A relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

To apply for an SRUC PhD studentship, please follow the guidance below. The SRUC Doctoral College can provide you with support for your application.
Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Arthy Surendran – Arthy.Surendran@sruc.ac.uk

Applications are to be submitted via the University of Edinburgh application portal: https://e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/supervisor-led-projects/project?item=1734. Applicants are asked to read the full project description before applying.
If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Jude Eze (SRUC), Dr Annette Boerlage (SRUC), Dr Sarah Marley (SRUC), Dr Giles Innocent (Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland)

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 6 January 2025

Description: The project will develop and apply novel statistical approaches to address cetacean movement based on global marine mammal stranding data, satellite information, and anthropomorphic activity data, such as shipping or fishing activities. It will not only take advantage of these large datasets but also provide novel techniques in handling, analysing and presenting such information that could be more broadly applied to disease outbreaks through to distribution and conservation of endangered species, facilitate surveillance and provide early warning systems.

The global industrialisation of the oceans through fishing, shipping of goods and the development of offshore renewable energy production has undoubtedly had impact on marine ecosystems. This project would not only enable the identification of the correlation of such activities with marine mammal strandings but also provide an opportunity to develop a risk assessment approach that could be used to inform conservation efforts and policies surrounding the utility of certain locations with high population densities of marine mammals. Several local communities in Scotland and internationally depend on ecotourism based on marine life as a crucial part of their economy.

Finally, the project fits within the Centre for Global Climate Emergency as the project allows us to directly assess the correlation between marine mammal strandings and those coastal areas which are directly affected by climate change. Some data available will allow for time series analyses to be undertaken to assess the impact of global sea temperatures changing and its impact on coastal populations of marine mammals.

The project will focus on achieving the following objectives:

Collate strandings data from existing databases in multiple countries, undertake quality review.
Assess methodologies and identify most appropriate modelling approach for development of spatiotemporal models to predict and map the distribution of strandings.
Assess the ecological, environmental and anthropogenic drivers of regional and global strandings
Working with stakeholders, focus groups and marine mammal researchers, to evaluate and validate model parameters, predictions and maps.
Co-develop with mammal researchers and other stakeholders, data pipelines and automated dashboards.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

To apply for an SRUC PhD studentship, please follow the guidance below. The SRUC Doctoral College can provide you with support for your application.

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Jude Eze – Jude.Eze@sruc.ac.uk

Applications are to be submitted via the University of Edinburgh application portal: https://e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/supervisor-led-projects/project?item=1737. Applicants are asked to read the full project description before applying.

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Ross Davidson (SRUC)

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

This 4-year PhD project is part of a competition funded by EastBio BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership. This opportunity is open to UK and International students and provides funding to cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs.

The proportion of international students appointed through the EastBio DTP is capped at 30% by UKRI BBSRC. Please check your eligibility for the UKRI funding via the UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions (especially Annex B International Eligibility Criteria for UKRI-funded studentships). Please contact recruitment@eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk if you are unsure of your fee status.

Description:

The seemingly intractable societal challenges of the first half of the 21st Century, including climate change, the biodiversity crisis and managing infectious disease, are systems challenges. Many proposed mitigations can induce unintended behavioural changes that dampen or even reverse any gains. To solve many of these societal challenges, then, requires understanding and quantification of how large scale systems behave and respond to external drivers e.g. global change, and interventions. This project aims to develop new techniques and approaches required to address these challenges by developing modelling tools and analysis of exemplar socio-ecological systems, starting with the key challenge of managing infectious disease.

Disease control is complicated by the fact that measures to reduce contacts between infectious and susceptible individuals typically also reduce beneficial commercial or social interactions. The processes that drive commercial or social interactions generate ‘contacts’ that lead to disease transmission, but although severe restriction of these may be necessary in an emergency this can never be a long-term solution, e.g. recall COVID lockdowns and the so-called compensatory behaviours that led individuals to circumvent them. Current approaches fail to address such challenges [1].

This project will start by building on recent work that develops mechanistic modelling of contact processes using extensive data on cattle movements to develop a digital-twin (data-driven systems model) of cattle trading between farms, enabling a better understanding of trade-offs between trade and disease transmission [2]. A key goal is to explore the potential to limit disease while also satisfying farm trade requirements, making use of the highly skewed distribution of farm sizes to ensure efficiency and equity.

Similar trade-offs, and complications such as diversity in how individuals are affected, occur in many hard to solve and so-called ‘wicked’ problems including minimising negative consequences of anti-microbial use, enhancing natural pest control [3] and managing landscapes for biodiversity and productivity. The overarching goal motivating this project is to use systems approaches to identify opportunities for better ways to manage these systems and to map-out pathways that will help navigate toward them.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

To apply for an EastBio PhD studentship, please follow the guidance on the EastBio how to apply webpage. EastBio can provide you with support for your application and details are available on the webpage.

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Ross Davidson - ross.davidson@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

1) Complete the online EastBio Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a unique number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your EastBio Application Form.

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

This fully funded, 4-year PhD project is part of a competition and is funded by the BBSRC EastBio Doctoral Training Partnership and is open to students worldwide. Funding will cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs and an annual research grant of £5,000 for the first three years of the PhD research (this is reduced to £1,500 in the fourth year of the PhD).

References

[1] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2022.100588
[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111059
[3] https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2696

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Hadi Aliki, Dr Rajiv Sharma, Prof Wayne Powell, Dr Arthy Surendran

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Vertical farming (VF) is an emerging agricultural system that uses precision technologies to optimize crop production in controlled environments. VF has the potential to significantly reduce resource use (e.g., water, pesticides) while increasing food production efficiency. However, there is a critical gap in variety development, as current crop breeding programs have not kept pace with the rapid advancements in VF technology1-2. To fully realize the economic, social, and environmental benefits of VF, this gap must be addressed by developing plant varieties specifically adapted to these novel environments. This project aims to bridge this gap by studying crop genetics in vertical farming (VF) conditions to develop varieties that thrive in VF environments while also meeting consumer preferences for flavour and nutritional value.

1. Genetic Characterization of VF-Adaptive Traits: This objective will involve studying the genetic basis of key traits, such as flavour, nutritional content, and photosynthetic efficiency, in crops grown in VF conditions. Using Chinese cabbage mapping population, student will identify genetic markers linked to these key important traits such as early vigour.

2. Optimizing Agronomic Practices for VF: This objective focuses on understanding how genotype, management practices, and the VF environment interact to influence plant growth. Student will explore the effects of environmental factors like light intensity, nutrient availability, and temperature control on crop performance. The aim is to identify optimal VF management strategies for improved crop yield, nutrient use efficiency and quality.

3. Data-Driven Breeding and Trait Prediction: The project will integrate genomic data, phenotypic traits, and environmental factors to build predictive models for VF-adapted crop breeding.

Using statistical methods and machine learning techniques, students will develop trait prediction models that streamline the breeding process. This will allow faster identification of promising crop varieties with desired traits. This PhD project offers students the opportunity to develop skills in genomics, agronomy, and data science, providing a comprehensive training experience at the intersection of these disciplines. Student will gain hands-on experience in molecular techniques, environmental management in VF, and computational tools for trait prediction, preparing them to contribute to the growing field of vertical farming for sustainable food production. By addressing the innovation gap in VF variety development, this project has the potential to transform the future of agriculture, ensuring that VF can contribute to meeting global food security challenges while minimizing environmental impact.

The project is being offered in collaboration with CN seeds Ltd.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Hadi Aliki - hadi.aliki@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

References

1. Zhi et al. doi: 10.1038/s44264-024-00021-5
2. Nikita et al. doi: 10.9734/jsrr/2024/v30i82241

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Mark Moseley

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Invasive species can play a key role in the epidemiology of important pathogens of livestock and humans by introducing novel pathogens or strains, changing reservoir host community diversity, and altering the relative abundance of key reservoir hosts. Invasive small mammals associated with human movement, such as rats, are key reservoir hosts for many pathogens of livestock and humans, including Leptospira spp. However, despite evidence from other parts of the Western Indian Ocean Island region that invasive shrews maintain a diversity of Leptospira spp., and their widespread distribution and close association with humans, the role of shrews in the ecological epidemiology of leptospirosis is less well understood.

This project will utilise samples collected during ongoing invasive small mammal management projects across the Maldives archipelago, where the small mammal community on individual islands range from islands where the only invasive small mammals are shrews or rats to islands where both species co-occur and where pilot data suggests clear differences in the small mammal invasion history. Using these samples, we aim to understand the invasion history of small mammals, characterise the Leptospira spp. diversity and host-pathogen relationships, and explore the effect of reservoir host co-occurrence and management efforts on small mammal infection rates. This project will take advantage of a bank of existing tissue samples, ongoing sampling, and molecular detection and typing protocols developed for similar studies in Madagascar and mainland Africa. Working with an interdisciplinary supervisory team of veterinary surgeons, microbiologists, conservation biologists, and statisticians, this project would suit a student with an interest in infectious disease ecology, epidemiology, conservation, or molecular genetics.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Mark Moseley - mark.moseley@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Gemma Miller

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Agriculture is the largest source of ammonia emissions in the UK (~87%), with cattle accounting for 44% of those agricultural emissions. Ammonia is a volatile gas that has a negative impact air quality, contributes to soil and water acidification when deposited on land, reduces plant biodiversity, and leads to indirect emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). While numerous mitigation measures are available to reduce ammonia emissions on both dairy and beef farms, farming involves complex biological systems. These systems regulate the emission rate of multiple gases, meaning measures to decrease emissions of one gas can inadvertently increase others. There is limited understanding of the trade-offs between ammonia emissions and GHG emissions following the implementation of ammonia mitigation measures. Understanding these trade-offs is key to developing management practices and policies that strike a balance between both gases. Additionally, there is a considerable lack of information on the financial costs for the farmer and the environmental benefits of adopting ammonia mitigation measures, which is a major barrier to the widespread adoption of these practices on UK farms.

This project will therefore explore the trade-offs and synergies between GHG and ammonia emissions following the implementation of ammonia mitigation measures. This will include development of a farm-level ammonia footprinting tool with the industry leading carbon calculator, Agrecalc, as well as informing the integration of ammonia mitigation measures into the Agrecalc tool to improve the estimation of GHG emissions. These tools will then be utilised alongside an extensive Agrecalc database to model scenarios on real farms to assess the effect of various ammonia mitigation measures on whole farm ammonia and GHG emissions. This project will also conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the trade-offs and synergies between ammonia and GHG emissions across various mitigation strategies, providing an evidence-base to inform future work. Throughout this work, the student will also consider the impacts of these mitigation measures on production efficiencies and identify any potential “win-win” scenarios. Additionally, this project will assess the economic performance of ammonia mitigation measures by evaluating their implementation costs, potential saving and long-term financial implications for farmers against the emissions reductions achieved. The knowledge gained from this project will help drive the uptake of measures that deliver across multiple policy and farm efficiency objectives.

This project is being offered in collaboration with Agrecalc.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Gemma Miller - gemma.miller@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Ann McLaren

Location: Edinburgh/Kirkton

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

This PhD will investigate resource use by hill sheep in extensive systems and assess potential relationships with new resilience and sustainability traits currently being explored. These include phenotypes collected using SRUC’s GreenSheep Portable Accumulation Chambers (PACs), CT-scanner and feed intake recording modules. Global positioning system (GPS) collars will allow animals to be tracked and their resource use (grazing areas of the hill) and behaviour to be assessed. Additional resilience phenotypes will be quantified relating animal performance data to environmental/climatic conditions.

As with all areas of the agricultural industry, there is a drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and hill sheep systems have their role to play. Hill farms will have to become resilient to climate change, whilst also reducing environmental impact and promoting biodiversity. System-wide adaptation will be required, with potential mitigation options including animal breeding, grazing and management strategies.

Hill sheep are adapted to survive and reproduce on extensive hill ground, often eating poor-quality vegetation, unsuitable for alternative sheep breeds or other forms of agricultural production. Data available from SRUC’s performance recorded Scottish Blackface hill flock, has previously demonstrated the benefits of within-breed genetic selection for both maternal and lamb production traits in terms of current economic drivers. However, additional research has also identified some potential limitations within hill breeds for traits associated with greenhouse gas emissions, for example those associated with the unfavourable relationship between lamb growth rates and ewe mature size and the possible dietary influences on rumen size (Lambe et al, 2014, Lambe et al., 2022). It is therefore likely that there will be trade-offs that need to be considered in the future.

This study will therefore: Analyse several different datasets associated with greenhouse gas emissions from sheep, including those recorded through the GreenSheep PACs, CT-measured rumen volumes & residual feed intake. Additional flock performance and climatic data will also be available, to allow further resilience traits to be investigated; Develop protocols for assessing the grazing behaviour of ewes, during different stages of the production year; Identify key traits to be included in future breeding programmes or flock management strategies; Assess the potential impacts that different grazing or management strategies may have on biodiversity; Assess the implications of the key traits or strategies identified in terms of their impact on future carbon calculator benchmarks.

This project will be based at SRUC, Edinburgh with work also undertaken at SRUC, Kirkton.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Ann McLaren - Ann.McLaren@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Rajiv Sharma, Prof Wayne Powell, Dr Arthy Surendran

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Strawberries, recognized for their exceptional nutritional value, including high levels of antioxidants and vitamins, hold a premier position among soft fruits. As octoploids (2n = 8x = 56), strawberries possess heterozygous progenies, which, once derived from a cross, can be propagated as clones. This characteristic, while beneficial for maintaining genetic diversity, also introduces complexity in the breeding process.

The demand for strawberries with specific traits—such as improved flavour, size, yield and resistance to diseases—has driven breeders to focus on selecting these attributes over multiple breeding cycles1. Traditionally, phenotypic selection has been labour-intensive and costly, particularly when targeting multiple traits.

To overcome these challenges, this project aims to shift the focus from phenotypic to genomic selection by identifying and utilizing trait-linked genetic markers as proxies in the selection scheme2. This exciting PhD project offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in modern plant breeding and soft fruits genetics.

In collaboration with Angus Soft Fruits Ltd (ASF) (https://www.angussoftfruits.co.uk/), a leading Scottish strawberry breeding company since 1998, the project focuses on shifting from traditional phenotypic to genotypic selection using genomic markers. By adopting a genotyping based strategy, the project aims to accelerate breeding cycles and reduce resource use, paving the way for the development of new, superior strawberry cultivars through the following objectives.

1. Identify Key Genetic Markers: Use GWAS to analyze historical data and identify genetic markers for desirable strawberry traits, creating a database to store these markers along with those from previous projects and literature.

2. Validate Markers in Breeding Lines: Conduct validation studies of identified markers across a diverse collection of strawberry breeding lines, ensuring their reliability and accuracy in trait selection.

3. Develop a Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) Strategy: Create a comprehensive selection design incorporating both empirical and simulation datasets, aimed at optimizing the breeding process for enhanced efficiency and scalability.

4. Harnessing Historical Data for Genotyping: Generate new genotyping data on ASF’s extensive historical accessions where phenotypic dataset are available, contributing to a robust foundation for marker identification and validation.

5. Accelerate Breeding Cycles: Incorporate validated markers into ASF's breeding program to shorten phenotypic selection cycles, enabling the accelerated development of superior cultivars through strategic design and molecular selection techniques. Evaluate genomic prediction models and recommend improvements for future genomic selection to optimize breeding3-5.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Rajiv Sharma - rajiv.sharma@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

References

1. Zhongchi et al. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad376
2. Vance et al. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.12.548723
3. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394277-7.00006-3
4.Pandey et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbr.13012
5. Rossi et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-024-04618-9

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Karla Suchacki

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

There is a critical need to better understand the fundamental role of bone in glucose and fat metabolism both for their impact on disease but also on growth and health in livestock. State-of the art imaging and newly developed analysis techniques in human and animal studies are increasingly allowing us to unpick the pathophysiology of disease in many contexts but in particular in relation to bone. This project presents an innovative approach to understanding glucose metabolism in the skeletal system and the role of bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) within metabolic networks in the pig, leveraging advanced imaging modalities and molecular biology. We will use positron emission tomography (PET) imaging which lends itself to deciphering complex biological processes and interactions.

We have recently discovered complex tissue interactions in vivo using total-body PET network analysis that demonstrate that different bones within the mouse skeleton have a unique glucose metabolism and form a complex metabolic network[1]. In this project we will expand this understanding to a pig model. We hypothesise that whole-body PET fingerprinting technology will identify that different bones within the pig skeleton have a unique glucose metabolism and form a complex metabolic network, which will differ between the healthy and diseased (osteomyelitis) pigs. Furthermore, this project will identify the unique properties of bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) in various skeletal sites of the pig, using 18F-FDG PET, CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We will validate these findings using molecular biology techniques to establish the unique characteristics of BMAT.

This project will therefore combine complex imaging analysis methodology with molecular biology techniques, to help understand the unique properties of skeletal glucose metabolism and BMAT and how tissues interact at a systems level.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Karla Suchacki - karla.suchacki@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

References

1. Suchacki, K.J., Alcaide-Corral, C.J., Nimale, S., Macaskill, M.G., Stimson, R.H., Farquharson, C., Freeman, T.C., and Tavares, A.A.S. (2021). A Systems-Level Analysis of Total-Body PET Data Reveals Complex Skeletal Metabolism Networks in vivo. Front Med (Lausanne) 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.740615.

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Carol-Anne Duthie

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

The development of technologies and digital tools offers significant opportunities for livestock production systems. Recent interest in remote sensing solutions for use on-farms has increased significantly in recent years. Imaging solutions in particular offers interesting and exciting opportunities for use in meat-processing plants and in on-farm settings for driving improvements across the beef sector. Coupled with advances in techniques for analysing data, imaging tools have the potential to improve the quality and quantity of data flow between processor and producer, driving improvements in trust, efficiency, profitability and environmental impact.

This exciting project is part of a large multi-disciplinary collaboration with partner expertise spanning beef production, carcass evaluation, animal health/welfare, precision livestock farming, image processing, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and data analytics. Combining expertise across these areas is necessary to improve production efficiency at an individual farm level and across supply chains. This studentship will provide access to a unique and newly-developed dataset of high-quality images collected in meat-processing plants and collected on-farm. The project will explore, using a range of advanced data analysis techniques (machine/deep learning), the ability to accurately assess economic value of the individual animal/carcass.

In addition, discussions surrounding land use policies, aimed at achieving net zero, are intensifying globally. To meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5oC, significant GHG emission reductions will be needed across all sectors, including agriculture. There are several mitigation options available for farms to reduce their emissions, with many offering “win-win” solutions, where they not only reduce GHG emissions but also increase production efficiencies. Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies have been highlighted as a promising strategy to indirectly reduce GHG emissions by increasing production efficiencies. This PhD also offers the opportunity to explore the carbon savings that could be achieved through adoption of a range of precision technologies at farm level and across supply chains. While it is well documented that PLF can increase production efficiencies, demonstrating their additional benefits (i.e. reducing GHG emissions) is important to accelerate the adoption of these measures, and to deliver new knowledge to inform industry and policy.

This project is being offered in partnership with Innovent Technology Ltd.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Professor Carol-Anne Duthie - carol-anne.duthie@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Kairsty Topp, Prof Christine Watson

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Regenerative and agroecological management practices have a major role to play in the transformation of future food production systems to net zero. However, agroecological approaches will only be widely adopted by farmers when there is guidance available on how management interacts with local conditions allowing evidence-based decisions to be made on what practices are effective where and when. The aim of this PhD is to improve the delivery of ecosystem services through interventions such as cover cropping and herbal leys by analysing data from different environments and farming systems. The application of such a place-based approach to the use of agroecological practices provides a novel lens for delivery of ecosystem services. The project will utilise cutting edge statistical approaches to analyse data from long-term experiments across Northern Europe (including pHoenix and Tulloch rotations at SRUC Aberdeen).

This work will generate high impact publications in agroecology and provide opportunities for further research funding streams and impact by working with other long-term experimental (LTE) platforms internationally. This work strongly complements existing research at SRUC (funded by RESAS, BBSRC and EU) building on our LTEs. The student will receive training in data management, soil science, agroecology, statistics, modelling and have the opportunity to interact with SRUC’s research collaborators across Northern Europe. In addition to informing farming practice, research findings will also help to inform future land use policy. The studentship contributes to SDGs 2, 4, 12, 13 and 15.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Prof Kairsty Topp - kairsty.topp@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Christine Watson, Dr Fiona Fraser, Prof Kairsty Topp

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Temporary and permanent grasslands cover >70% of UK agricultural land and provide a variety of ecosystem services including provision of feed for ruminants who convert grass into nutrient rich human food. Across the UK, grassland contributes significantly to the total climate change mitigation of agriculture and contain a huge reservoir of soil carbon. The inclusion of temporary leys within arable systems promoting crop/livestock integration is a regenerative approach which is gaining popularity among farmers, food production companies and policy makers. However, little is known about the dynamics of soil carbon pools as leys develop and mature or how the pools within short-term leys reflect those in long-term grassland. Nitrogen is also a key part of the story as it controls the capacity of the soil to store carbon.

The overall aim of the studentship is to understand the dynamics of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen pools in grasslands as they mature. The student will utilise long-term experiments to investigate carbon and nitrogen pools in leys of different ages as they mature and address release of carbon when those leys are subsequently cultivated for arable production. In a contemporary twist we will compare carbon cycling in ley/arable systems producing livestock with vegan production systems which are not dependent on grassland utilised by livestock. The student will also have the opportunity to develop modelling skills by upscaling the results of their work to estimate the impact of establishing short term leys in arable farming systems in Scotland.

Ultimately, the knowledge created during this PhD will help develop practical guidelines to support policy development on the role of grassland in achieving net zero. The student will receive training in soil science, experimental design, modelling, data management and statistics and will be part of a larger team working nationally and internationally on carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems. The studentship contributes to SDGs 2, 4, 12, 13 and 15.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Prof Christine Watson - christine.watson@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Pamela Johnston

Location: Inverness

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Tick-borne pathogens are an emerging cause of livestock and zoonotic disease throughout the UK and Europe. The most widespread species of tick vector is Ixodes ricinus, whose distribution and abundance is driven by climatic and habitat variation. In Scotland, it is expected that I. ricinus densities could increase by 26-99% under the most conservative estimates for climate warming. This expansion in the distribution and density of ticks drives an increased potential for transmission of tick-borne pathogens between wildlife hosts and livestock.

Ticks and wildlife species maintain numerous key tick-borne pathogens of livestock, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum. A. phagocytophilum is a gram-negative, intracellular bacterium that is the causative agent of granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) in humans and tick-borne fever (TBF) in domestic ruminants. In ruminants, TBF can range from asymptomatic to severe febrile disease associated with haemorrhages and abortions.

Several wild animals, including red and roe deer, are thought to play a role as reservoir hosts for A. phagocytophilum. Infections in wild ruminants, such as deer, are generally thought to be asymptomatic, with only rare cases of severe disease being reported. Recently, using a variety of genetic markers, different A. phagocytophilum ecotypes have been identified that vary in their host range and their zoonotic and livestock disease potential. Some ecotypes appear restricted to roe deer, while others infect a wide range of host species, including red deer, livestock and humans . Therefore, it is critically important to understand the distribution, host range, and clinical significance of different A. phagocytophilum ecotypes to inform potential control strategies.

Working with an interdisciplinary team of veterinary pathologists and disease ecologists, this project aims to identify clinically significant Anaplasma spp. in livestock, the role of wildlife as reservoirs, and spatiotemporal dynamics in infection risk by i) using molecular tools to detect and characterise tickborne pathogens in tissue from veterinary surveillance submissions, wild deer and small mammals, ii) exploring which genotypes are able to cross the wildlife-livestock interface, and iii) identifying spatial or temporal patterns in infection rates in wildlife and livestock.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Pamela Johnston - pamela.johnston@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors:Dr Scott Lawton

Location: Inverness

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Fasciolosis is an important food borne trematode infection caused by two fluke species, Fasciola hepatica in temperate environments and Fasciola gigantica in tropical climates. An estimated 2.5 million people world-wide are infected with Fasciola and a further US$ 3.2 billion economic loss annually in ruminant production globally. The disease is of particular concern in countries with emerging and developing economies with an increasing dependency on cattle and sheep farming. This is particularly true of rapidly emerging economies in sub-Saharan Africa especially in those climate sensitive countries that have the native F. gigantica and the invasive F. hepatica parasites. South Africa is one such African nation that has in recent years seen an increase in incidence of Fasciola caused by both species and yet there remains limited information on the prevalence of infection in livestock, wildlife and its associated public health risk to people. The single most important risk factor contributing to transmission of the parasite is the occurrence of compatible Lymnaediae snail intermediate hosts that can vector the parasite. It is already known that Radix natalensis plays a vital role in the transmission of the parasite but understanding its distribution is challenging owing to identification being problematic based on traditional morphological approaches. Similarly, in recent years South Africa has seen major anthropogenic incursions of invasive aquatic snails including Galba and Psuedosuccinea columella¸ both of which known to transmit Fasciola in their native ranges but to date their transmission capacity and distribution remain unknown in South African aquatic systems.

In order to address these challenges this project will take a multidisciplinary approach, employing molecular biology, epidemiological mapping and population genomics. The main objectives of this project are:

1) To develop a molecular phylogenetic framework for the identification of intermediate hosts of Fasciola sp from African species of the snail family Lymnaediae

2) To create a molecular detection test that can identify prepatent infections of Fasciola to incriminate snail vectors of disease

3) To map the distribution of snail populations across South Africa and identify any association with the know areas of Fasciola infection

4) Using population genomic approaches compare the diversity and evolutionary history of both endemic and invasive snail vector species

The student will be based at SRUC Inverness. They will be trained in medical and veterinary malacology, parasitology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and there will be fieldwork.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Scott Lawton - scott.lawton@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Spiridoula Athanasiadou, Prof Nicholas Westwood

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Sustainability is at the top of every agenda. To deliver “sustainable food production”, our livestock should be healthy and utilise sustainable resources for productivity. The use of treatments known as anthelmintics has increased livestock productivity over the last 60 years by controlling parasitic disease. However, sustainability is under threat due to global challenges, including antimicrobial resistance, climate change and maintenance of biodiversity. To overcome this threat, it is critical that the rate of productivity and profitability of food production is maintained, without jeopardising livestock health and with minimum drug input into production. This project addresses this by investigating the use of plant compounds to mitigate the consequences of antimicrobial resistance for parasite control in livestock.

Plant secondary metabolites (PSM) disrupt the life cycle of parasites such as nematodes. It has been shown that PSM-rich extracts have a detrimental impact on biological processes such as egg hatching, larvae exsheathment and larval movement. In this project we will focus on egg hatching, which is the most common read-out of egg viability in the environment. A good comprehension of how PSM are affecting hatching could lead to the development of novel anthelmintic strategies. Importantly, it can mitigate the consequences of anthelmintic resistance by achieving egg hatch inhibition in the environment.

As a source of PSM, we will use bark extracts. Tree bark is a low value timber industry by-product, which is rich in PSMs with antiparasitic properties. We have recently shown that bark extracts from UK native trees have a negative effect on the hatching ability of ovine nematodes. As part of an ongoing BBSRC project, we have created an extensive inventory of bark extracts from UK hard and softwood trees that will be used. You will work and characterise crude extracts and isolated compounds, work that will take place at St Andrews University under the guidance of Professor Nick Westwood. You will quantify the contribution of individual PSM (or their effects in combination), on egg hatch inhibition activity. To unravel the mechanisms of action of active compounds and assess their specificity, in vitro, in situ and tissue experiments will be performed at SRUC under the guidance of Professor Spiridoula Athanasiadou. The project is interdisciplinary; the supervisory team, which has worked together before, will provide training and expertise in veterinary parasitology and molecular biology (SRUC - Edinburgh) and chemical biology (University of St Andrews).

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Prof Spiridoula Athanasiadou - spiridoula.athanasiadou@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Rob Graham, Dr Nick Littlewood, Dr Louise Ross

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

There is a clear link between sustainable farming techniques and levels of biodiversity found within those systems. The role of food production as a principal driver of biodiversity loss has been shaped by decades of agricultural intensification. There is clear acknowledgement that the sector needs to move towards a more sustainable farming system, as a way to produce food but also maintain and enhance biodiversity.

But beyond overall numbers (i.e. as a measure of biodiversity), there is very little known about the robustness of food webs in agricultural systems, with regards to their nutritional value and energy flow. Is quantity alone necessarily better than quality?

This project proposes a truly novel approach to investigating invertebrate food webs in agricultural landscapes. It will investigate trophic interactions, from host-plant to apex predator, and examine the flow of key nutritional factors, namely protein, carbohydrates and lipid. Food webs describe the flow of energy and nutrients through communities and ecosystems. To date, elements (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) have been commonly used by ecologists to measure food web connections and compare them across different ecosystems. Yet, macronutrients (i.e., carbohydrate, lipid, and protein) are being increasingly recognised as critical measures because they provide more information on the quality of inputs at each trophic level.

The overall goal of this work is to develop a framework for studying food webs that investigates macronutrients to better predict nutrient transfer among organisms. This research will focus on insects and other arthropods as they are some of the most diverse and abundant members of terrestrial ecosystems and a major food source for both invertebrate and vertebrate predators – and a good indicator of habitat robustness. Further understanding how food webs function is an important goal for sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. We will use a combination of field-sampling, molecular and biochemical assays to quantify the flow of macronutrients. Prospective students should have strong interests in entomology, sustainable agriculture, molecular biology and physiology. From this study, key recommendations will be proposed, contributing to the debate on sustainable farming approaches and the bid to boost associated biodiversity.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Rob Graham - rob.graham@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Ruth Morgan

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Obesity affects around 30-40% of horses in the UK and was recently identified as one of the most important welfare challenges facing the equine industry. Whilst we assume that equine obesity is due to an imbalance of energy intake and expenditure our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is very poor. In other species obesity is now largely considered a disease of the brain and appetite signalling. People or dogs most at risk of obesity have an increased appetite and are less able to control their intake; they are highly food motivated compared with their lean counterparts.

The recognition of these distinct phenotypes has led to ground-breaking work to uncover the genetics of human and canine obesity. In contrast, little is known about food motivation in horses but there are definite breed differences in susceptibility to obesity. Owners frequently report horses more likely to be obese are highly food motivated which makes food restriction for weight loss challenging. We hypothesise that intrinsic differences in food motivation exist between horses which accounts for differences in obesity susceptibility and that current restrictive weight management practices fail to account for these differences and may consequently negatively impact a horse’s welfare.

Our project is in three parts, the first is the development of methods to accurately quantify food motivation in horses as measured by behavioural testing, analysis of grazing behaviour and owner questionnaires. From this we will develop a simplified composite testing regime which can be rolled out to a larger number of obese-prone and non-obese prone breeds to test our hypothesis that food motivation is correlated with obesity risk. In the final part we will start to unpick the genetic basis of intrinsic food motivation.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Ruth Morgan - ruth.morgan@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Victoria Sandilands, Dr Graham Bruce

Location: Edinburgh/St Andrews

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Currently, male layer chicks in the UK are culled, because they do not lay eggs and make poor meat birds due to low conversion efficiency. Culled chicks are used to feed pet and zoo animals. However, interest is growing in avoiding culling unwanted males, to prevent unnecessary suffering and to save energy by reducing the numbers of eggs that must be incubated to produce replacement layer flocks. Germany and France have already banned the culling of male layer chicks, with others considering a ban. While UK governments and welfare organisations are not considering this yet, they maintain interest in developing technologies, while considering wider implications that a ban might impose.

There are currently several methods of identifying the sex of the embryo in-ovo, but many are invasive which reduces hatchability. Non-invasive methods may only work on brown-feathered strains of hens, are significantly energy hungry, require almost two weeks of incubation (out of three total) to identify sex, and are less accurate than invasive methods.

This PhD will develop a non-invasive method of in-ovo sexing for chicken embryos that is effective before day 13 of incubation (prior to which embryos show no evidence of pain sense). It would suit someone with a degree in zoology or similar, with an interest in learning about optical physics, or a physics student with an interest in animal biology. Further training (via dedicated on-line courses) will be given in the student’s weaker subject area, to enable them to work effectively in this cross-disciplinary project. We will develop a student's abilities to write sound, evidence based research papers and presentations.

You will be based at SRUC's Edinburgh campus with some travel to St. Andrews.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Victoria Sandilands - Vicky.Sandilands@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Janet Nale, Dr Salvatore Galgano, Prof Jos Houdijk

Location: Inverness/Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Description:

Poultry is the most common meat consumed in the UK with an estimated 30.53 kg of the meat consumed per capita in the year 2022. Approximately, 1.11 billion broilers, 39 million boiling fowl, and 9 million turkeys were slaughtered, and an estimated 1.9 million metric tonnes of poultry meat was produced in the country and valued at ~£3.15 billion in the year 2023.

Colibacillosis is one of the most common and important diseases in poultry production often linked to extra-intestinal colonisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). APEC infection can impact on the overall performance of birds leading to decreased body weight, carcass yield, meat quality and increased mortality. This can cause great economic loss to farmers and serious health risk of zoonoses to humans.

Colibacillosis in poultry husbandry is also a major health concern due to the growing resistance of APEC strains to frontline antibiotics, thus novel control strategies are greatly needed. Probiotics are live bacteria that can promote gut health by modulating commensal microbiota, preventing dysbiosis and providing protection against pathogenic bacteria. Additionally, bacteriophages (phages) are viruses which specifically kill bacteria including antimicrobial resistant strains and can control the colonisation of pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal tract of poultry birds.

Probiotics and phages each have varied therapeutic efficacies, and their activity have previously been shown to be improved by combining both strategies against Salmonella colonisation in broiler chickens. The rationale is based on the targeted approach of the phage towards reducing the pathogenic bacteria in vivo and the subsequent re-establishment of the gut normal bacterial dynamics by the probiotic. Currently, very little is known on the efficacy of this strategy to control APEC colonisation in chickens.

To address this knowledge gap and inform future development of this strategy in poultry farming, here, we aim to expand our exiting APEC and phage collections at SRUC and would:

1. isolate and characterise probiotic bacteria from avian sources

2. isolate and characterise additional APEC bacteria and broad host range, thermally stable lytic phages that can target and effectively lyse the APEC strains

3. optimise phage cocktails to enhance lysis activity

4. ascertain the combined therapeutic effects of the phages and probiotics on the colonisation of a test APEC strain in Galleria mellonella larva infection model and a chicken pilot study.

The project will be based across both SRUC's Inverness and Edinburgh campuses.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Janet Nale - janet.nale@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Nicola Holden

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Description:

Microbial communities play a key role in host or environmental niche functioning. Just as soil functions in nutrient cycling are driven by microbial processes, plant-microbe interactions drive many of the associated outcomes in plant productivity. However, many questions remain about the specific detail. Here, computational approaches will be used on existing datasets to bring new knowledge about the interactions.

We have generated a biological and bioinformatics resource for the microbiomes associated with major UK crop species, grown in soils from across the UK. This rich dataset contains sequence-based data on the microbial communities to allow researchers and agri-tech alike to use the data for their own questions around crop production. The UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank (UK-CMCB) database is an open and accessible resource, which stores the project data and links to public repositories.

The project aims to integrate contextual metadata into microbial taxonomic and functional datasets. The outcome will be the identification key agronomic and agricultural management features that influence microbiome compositions.

The project provides training in computational biology, software and data carpentry, and microbiome analysis (relevant to both the fields of agriculture, plant pathology and medicine).

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Prof Nicola Holden - nicola.holden@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Jolanda van Munster, Prof Jamie Newbold

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Ruminants such as cows are efficient degraders of untreated plant material. The digestion process is critical to ruminant health and performance in farming, including GHG emissions. Manipulation of the responsible rumen microbiome is thus a highly promising avenue to address challenges in ruminant farming. Rumen microbes may also be exploited for their degradative capacities in renewables-based biotechnology processes. However, this presents a key challenge: it requires functional understanding of the microbiome.

The rumen microbiome consists of bacteria, archaea, protozoa and fungi, whereby fungi play a key role in digestion of plant cell walls in feed. Multiple species of anaerobic gut fungi are commonly present in ruminant microbiomes, but how their roles and niches differ is currently unknown.

This project aims to understand the different roles and niches of AGF in plant biomass degradation, via the construction of co-cultures and synthetic communities.

Key objectives include

1) the elucidation of fungal niche differentiation via assessment of pairwise interactions in co-cultures on a range of complex/polysaccharide substrates

2) to assess the feasibility of establishing fungal communities following bottom-up and top-down approaches

3) to use fungal co-cultures and communities to establish the roles of fungi in communities and their effect on key fermentation and degradation parameters.

Together this will result in insight in fungal interactions that play a role in plant cell wall digestion in the rumen, and has potential to uncover new interactions and roles of these microbes. This will not only benefit ruminant farming but will also suggest routes towards exploitation of these fungi in biotechnology.

The successful candidate will join the growing glycomycology team led by Dr Jolanda van Munster, and work closely with the rumen microbiology team. This project builds on their experience with in (anaerobe) fungal biology [1], and rumen microbiology [2] at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). You will benefit from training across these disciplines, including in anaerobe mycology and bacteriology, enzymology of carbohydrate active enzymes, molecular biology and genetics approaches to working with microbial communities such as amplicon sequencing.

You will mainly be based at the King’s Building campus in Edinburgh. The supervisory team is committed, and expects your active contribution, to an inclusive work environment and professional development of all research team members.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Jolanda van Munster - jolanda.van-munster@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

References

References [1] van Munster, Biotech for Biofuels (2020); 13, 69.[2] Belanche et al, Front. Microbiol (2021), 622002

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 4 years

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Prof Andrew Barnes, Dr Daniel Fletcher

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 17 January 2025

Funding:

Livestock systems are the main driver of deforestation and land degradation in Latin America. Silvopastoral systems (SPS) offer an alternative by integrating trees and shrubs into pastures, which enhances ecosystem functioning and prevents land degradation. By reducing the need for land abandonment and further deforestation to create new pastures, SPS contributes to resilience in local communities and agroecosystems. Despite the potential, SPS adoption remains limited compared to conventional extensive grazing. There is an urgent need to develop new strategies to scale SPS adoption and prevent further land degradation.

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) offers a mechanism for channelling private-sector finance toward climate action projects through the sale of carbon credits. Projects that reduce or remove atmospheric carbon emissions can quantify the removals/reductions and issue carbon credits based on this. Carbon credits are sold, through the VCM, to entities that retire the credits in order to make net zero claims. The ever-increasing number of large actors seeking to neutralise their emissions has driven the steady growth of the VCM, with a current cumulative value of 10.8 billion USD.

Compared to its conventional counterparts, SPS increase carbon within the landscape through the addition of woody biomass and the accumulation of soil carbon. This carbon sequestration can be used to generate carbon credits, which can be sold to generate revenue. By reinvesting carbon revenue into local SPS adoption programmes, SPS-based carbon projects can optimise their impact, ensuring the funds support long-term ecological health and community well-being. This approach would maximise benefits by channelling resources back into initiatives that strengthen both the environment and livelihoods through SPS adoption, creating a sustainable cycle of improvement.

This research aims to (1) estimate carbon sequestration potential in soils and biomass through SPS in Latin America, (2) determine the extent of revenue opportunities available through SPS in the VCM, (3) identify the most effective and cost-efficient SPS adoption programmes to maximise benefits in the target region, and (4) design a framework for maximising the impact of SPS carbon projects in Latin America.

Eligibility:

Eligibility criteria are available on the EastBio how to apply webpage.

How to Apply:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Professor Andrew Barnes -andrew.barnes@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the EastBio Application Form. You can only apply for one EastBio PhD project.

3) Download and send the EastBio Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 17 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk

Funding Notes

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Bingjie Li, Prof Mike Coffey, Prof Eileen Wall

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications:  Friday 31 January 2025

Description:

Understanding the genetic basis of complex traits has been one of the essential topics in cattle production. This PhD project aims to train a PhD researcher to learn the methods of deciphering genetic background of complex phenotypes using cattle data and explore the importance of genomic structure variation underlying cattle complex phenotypes.

This PhD study builds on SRUC’s large cattle data accumulated over the past 50 years. The student will work in a research team and supervisors with rich experience in cattle genetics, genomics, and breeding for complex traits. In the project the student will work on genomic structure variants using DNA sequence data and assess the impact of structure variants on cattle complex phenotypes (with focus on production, feed efficiency, and molecular phenotypes) using large-scale cattle data.

The student will obtain research training on quantitative genetics and genomics, statistical modelling, and bioinformatics. The student will also obtain valuable training in scientific writing, project management skills, and career development skills. In addition, the student will be offered with valuable opportunities to collaborate with researchers and industry in the UK, EU and US.

The students are expected to submit a PhD thesis in 3.5 years. Candidates are preferred to have some previous experience or education in genetics, genomics, animal breeding, computational biology, or bioinformatics. Advanced scientific training for the PhD project will be offered to the successful candidate.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

To apply for an SRUC PhD studentship, please follow the guidance below or on the SRUC Postgraduate Research Opportunities webpage. The SRUC Doctoral College can provide you with support for your application.

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Bingjie Li - Bingjie.Li@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

1) Complete the online SRUC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a completion receipt number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your SRUC Application Form.

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

This PhD project is fully funded for 3.5 years. It is part of a competition funded by SRUC and is open to students worldwide. Funding will cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs and an annual research grant of £3,000 for the first three years of the PhD research (this is reduced to £500 in the writing-up year of the PhD).

Start date: October 2025 Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Carly Maynard, Dr Jane Atterton, Prof Alistair Hamilton

Location:  Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

It is expected that Scotland will see changing precipitation patterns under climate change projections (e.g. increased average temperatures, drier summers, milder, wetter, winters and more extreme weather events; Adaptation Scotland, 2021). While flooding has long been a challenge for the historically water-rich country, it is now also recognised that water scarcity and the frequency, severity and duration of drought events is likely to increase in coming decades (Kirkpatrick-Baird et al., 2023).

Despite this, there is a lack of recognition of the risks among many groups, including Scottish food and drinks producers such as distilleries, and agricultural producers of potatoes and soft fruits (Glendell et al., 2024). With an absence of recognition of these risks comes an inability to de-risk one’s business once the impacts are realised. This causes us to ask how we can engage businesses and producers to respond with anticipatory action to this challenge. Crucial to addressing this is approaching the issue from the informed perspective of the businesses and producers that need to be engaged.

The aim of this project is to establish non-monetary valuation of water resources and develop a tool for engaging agri-food businesses in the communication of water scarcity risk, with the intention of facilitating Scotland’s rural businesses (e.g. food and drinks production) to de-risk from the impacts of water scarcity.

This project will aim to achieve this through the following approaches, within the context of water use and management:

developing an understanding of the political, economic, environmental and personal contexts in which these businesses operate

understanding how water is managed & valued, and its contribution to business functionality

considering what needs exist in terms of receiving new information and developing long-term plans on the basis of such information

co-designing tools for communicating specific projected outcomes of water resource changes with relevant food producers and other businesses.

Data collection will follow a mixed methods approach which allows development of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The project will allow the candidate to develop skills in interdisciplinary and participatory research, while contributing to the knowledge fields in natural capital management, water resource management and food security. The work will liaise with SRUC’s RPC and consultants on policy issues and client advisory services. It will offer the opportunity to engage and build relationships with some of the most important agri-food businesses and sectors in Scotland’s rural economy, as well as develop academic study that is economically and politically relevant.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Carly Maynard - Carly.Maynard@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Fissha Asmare, Prof. Klaus Glenk

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications:  31 January 2025

Description:

East Africa is the continent’s fastest-growing region, where the combined challenges of climate change impacts, alarming population growth, massive urbanization, poverty alleviation, and a growing manufacturing sector are prevalent. 

Environmental taxation has been widely suggested as an effective policy instrument to reconcile economic development objectives with climate change mitigation targets (Timilsina, 2022). Green growth strategies backed by an effective redistribution system would enhance revenue mobilization to fund the fiscal budget and assist in the transition toward sustainable economic growth and affordable clean energy. Based on these premises, since the late 2010s, there have been increasing calls for environmental taxation such as carbon taxes to be widely applied in the region from institutions like the UN, the OECD, the IMF, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and Brookings (Advani et al., 2021; Maino & Emrullahu, 2022; OECD, 2021; UNEP, 2014a).

However, two key challenges remain for introducing environmental tax as a climate policy tool in the Eastern African context. One, there is no clear evidence of individuals' preference towards such a policy and the public acceptability of environmental tax is unknown. Since environmental protection is generally considered the sole responsibility of the government in the least developed countries, how individuals will respond to different features of environmental tax as a policy tool is a question to be answered before its implementation.

Two, there is a strong concern that environmental tax will distort the welfare of low-income individuals. How to best introduce an environmental tax to society so that climate change can be tackled without compromising economic development objectives is unclear. Policymakers lack ex-ante evidence about the regressivity or progressivity of policy options and how to abate any negative consequences.

The primary objectives of this PhD project are to measure preferences for environmental tax, asses the public acceptability and welfare implications of environmental tax and evaluate the role of behavioural factors in undertaking climate change mitigation activities in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

This project will combine randomized survey experiments and micro-simulation methods, incorporating primary data which will be obtained from field surveys and interviews (to produce papers 1 and 2) and a synthesis of the existing literature with secondary data (to produce paper 3). The secondary data that will be used in this project is from the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) survey conducted by the World Bank, which is freely available for research purposes.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Fissha Asmare – Fissha.Asmare@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Fiona Fraser, Dr Christine Watson, Dr Kairsty Topp

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications:  31 January 2025

Description:

Soft fruit production has long been an important part of UK agriculture, in Scotland the area used for soft fruit production now stands at approximately 2200 hectares. Much of this is high quality agricultural land under polytunnels, where crops are frequently grown in pots or bags rather than in the native soil. This system works to produce a high value, high quality, nutritious crop which is commonly sold through UK supermarkets. Soils contain large amounts of carbon but the impact on soil carbon dynamics of covering large areas of land with polytunnels is as yet unquantified. During this project the student will interact directly with growers to collect samples from polytunnels and collect representative information on polytunnel age and management practices. The impact of the tunnels and their associated agronomic management on total carbon stocks and their dynamics will be explored. This will allow the student to develop directly applicable advice for growers on how to influence their soil carbon stocks. The student will also use the information gathered in conjunction with parameters gleaned from existing literature to quantify the environmental footprint (e.g. carbon, water and nutrient usage) of soft fruit production under different current and future scenarios. This will allow the student to address direct policy relevant questions around land use choices - could fruit production be moved to lower quality land or un-used urban spaces thereby freeing up high quality agricultural land for further food production? As well as other aspects of the ability of this sector to contribute positively to net zero targets in Scotland.

The knowledge created during this PhD will help develop practical guidelines to support policy development on the ability of the soft fruit sector to contribute positively to net zero targets in Scotland The student will receive training in soil science, experimental design, mixed methods approaches, modelling, data management and statistics and will be part of a larger team working nationally and internationally on carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems. The studentship contributes to SDGs 2, 4, 12, 13 and 15.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Fiona Fraser – Fiona.Fraser@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Francis Naab, Dr Jane Atterton, Prof Andrew Barnes

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

This research will explore the crucial role of immigrant/migrant workers in Scotland’s rural and island social care sectors, where workforce shortages have consequences for the care economy—early and long-term care for older adults. As Scotland's ageing population grows, the demand for care services is increasing, yet rural and island areas struggle to recruit and retain sufficient care workers, particularly migrant and/or immigrant workers. In a similar vein, the demand for early childcare and the lack of early childcare facilities has consequences for rural and island labour force. This proposed study aims to uncover the motivations, challenges, and experiences of migrant and/or immigrant workers in these communities. It will also identify barriers to recruitment and retention, providing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers to enhance workforce sustainability in the rural care economy, and rural resilience development at large. Ultimately, this research aims to inform policies that improve care delivery in Scotland's rural and island areas, ensuring that care at both ends of the lifecourse – early childcare and long term care for older adults – is given prominence in the rural economy.

The project's mixed-methods approach demonstrates interdisciplinarity by integrating concepts, methods, and frameworks from various fields, including social work, economics, demography, rural and island sociology, healthcare, early childcare and long-term care for older adults. It also builds on the RPC’s core research undertaken through the Scottish Government Strategic Research programme focused on rural and island economies.

This PhD would sit within the discourse of ‘care economies’ (Ito Peng, 2019) ‘community economies’ (Gibson-Graham, 2006) or ‘community-based economies’ (Simms et al, 2014) whereby communities take ownership of their local economies, services and infrastructures. The research will involve in-depth qualitative enquiry with a range of community-owned/based care infrastructures, providers, workforce, and utilise case study approaches, and interviews. It shall then, based on the in-depth qualitative enquiry, conduct a survey among the care workforce and providers on determinants of workforce sustainability and/or retention, and differences due to geography or socio-economic conditions, lived experiences (modelled) among others.

This project is located at SRUC Edinburgh.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Francis Naab – Francis.Naab@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

1) Complete the online SRUC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a completion receipt number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your SRUC Application Form.

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Geoff Foster, Dr Janet Nale, Dr Neil McEwan, Dr Scott Lawton

Dr Derek Brown (Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories)

Location:  Inverness

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

Studying emerging diseases in marine mammals is crucial for understanding the health of marine ecosystems and mitigating risks to biodiversity and human health. Marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), serve as sentinel species, reflecting environmental changes and disease dynamics in their habitats. Emerging pathogens can disrupt marine food webs, threaten vulnerable species, and pose zoonotic risks to humans. Climate change, pollution, and human activities exacerbate disease emergence by altering pathogen transmission and host susceptibility. Investigating these diseases provides insights into pathogen evolution, informs conservation strategies, and supports the sustainable management of marine resources under the broader framework of the blue economy.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Blackisle is an emerging pathogen detected in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), sentinel species that reflect the health of marine ecosystems. Understanding pathogen-host interactions is critical to assessing its potential impact on marine wildlife, its evolutionary trajectory, and its zoonotic risk.

While S. enterica has been extensively studied in terrestrial systems, little is known about the genetic basis of its adaptation to marine hosts. Furthermore, S. Blackisle exhibits traits such as antigenic variation, virulence factor diversification, and possible drug resistance, which may facilitate host specificity and immune evasion. Research into these genetic mechanisms could provide insights into pathogen evolution, transmission dynamics, and host-pathogen co-evolution in marine environments.

This project will integrate genomic sequencing, in silico analyses, and experimental validation to investigate inter-host variation, virulence, antigenic diversity, drug resistance, and prophage content in S. Blackisle. Infection models will be used to assess virulence phenotypes across genotypes, providing a unique experimental perspective on host-pathogen interactions. In order to address these fundamental issues, the project has the following objectives

To characterise the genomes of S. Blackisle from multiple harbour porpoises to assess genomic variation.

Using in silico methods to measure inter-host antigenic variation and diverse virulence factors of S. Blackisle.

Identification of drug resistance and prophage content within marine mammal isolates of S. Blackisle as a measure of genome adaptation and plasticity

Using insect experimental models to determine the virulence phenotype of S. Blackisle genotypes and validate genomic predictions.

The student will be trained in bacteriology, genomics, bioinformatics and microbiology laboratory techniques.

This project is located at SRUC Inverness.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Geoff Foster - Geoff.Foster@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Helen Anderson, Dr Richard Armitage

Location:  Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: Ponds are a natural part of our landscape, providing an essential habitat for many amphibians. However, land-use change has led to the loss of a substantial number of ponds across the UK, e.g., the number of ponds in England and Wales fell from an estimated 800,000 to about 340,000 in the 40 years between 1880 and 1920 (Rackham 1986). The disappearance of these aquatic areas and their surrounding habitat has removed access to essential foraging areas and hibernation sites for amphibians (Griffiths 1997). This loss of landscape-scale connectivity for freshwater amphibians has effectively left them marooned in a sea of land.

This project aims to discover and digitally record the lost ponds (otherwise known as ghost ponds) of Scotland. By locating the ‘ghost ponds’ of Scotland and combining this data with maps of extant ponds, the first steps towards restoring the lost biodiversity of freshwater species in Scotland can be achieved. Targeted restoration of ghost ponds across the agricultural landscape could significantly combat the current biodiversity crisis and aligns with Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy, which aims to restore and regenerate biodiversity across land, freshwater and sea by 2045 (NatureScot).

Historic maps will be used to identify ghost ponds and produce the first comprehensive dataset of their locations with those of currently existing ponds. This historic database of Scottish ponds will then be explored to highlight landscape change and its impact on landscape-scale freshwater environments. In doing so the potential for landscape-scale connectivity of these aquatic environments can be explored and the conservation of amphibians improved.

Prospective students can come from an ecological/conservation or computing/GIS background. They should have strong GIS, computing and data management skills, good experience of data analysis and be eager to apply practical freshwater restoration skills for conservation purposes.

This project is located at SRUC Aberdeen.

References

Griffiths R A 1997 Temporary ponds as amphibian habitats Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 7 119–26

NatureScot, n.d. Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy https://www.nature.scot/scotlands-biodiversity/scottish-biodiversity-strategy/scotlands-biodiversity-strategy-2022-2045 [accessed 10 October 2024]

Rackham O 1986 The history of the countryside: the classic history of Britain's landscape, flora and fauna Dent, London

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Helen Anderson – Helen.Anderson@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Lesley Jessiman, Dr Ruth Morgan

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: Obesity is an increasing welfare concern in the leisure horses with 31.2% of horses identified as obese in one owner reported survey (Robin et al., 2015). Concerning though this is, the scale of the problem may be even greater as Morrison et al. (2017) found that only 11% of horse owners and managers could correctly identify all overweight horses. Equine obesity is associated with significant health concerns, including equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and laminitis (Morgan et al., 2016) both of which impact quality of life and longevity.

Despite continued research into the reasons horse owners overfeed and under exercise their horses very little work has been carried out into how we use the findings to elicit positive behaviour change in the real world. To date, efforts to reduce obesity in horses has centred around educating horse owners (Owers & Chubbock, 2013). Despite this, obesity as a welfare concern prevails. One of the problems with the current body of research is the theories adopted to explain horse owner behaviour are too individualist and fall short of accounting for the complex interplay between the individual, social, economic, historical, and cultural factors involved. One theoretical model that considers the complex and synergistic nature of human behaviour is the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW: Michie et al., 2011, 2014). The BCW recognises that behaviours are a function of an interacting system that involves a constellation of factors (Michie et al., 2014). Changing a behaviour will therefore involve changing one or more of the influences of that behaviour, placing the behavioural system into a new configuration (Michie et al., 2014). Although some equine welfare research has adopted the BCW (Furtardo, et al., 2021, 2022), what is still missing is fully developed and tested behaviour change interventions that draw directly from implementation science.

Working with a psychologist and comparative endocrinologist who specialises in equine obesity, the candidate will work towards identifying the key drivers and barriers to best equine husbandry practice. The candidate will be trained in social science research methods, human behaviour change science and its applicability to animal welfare. This project will provide the candidate with the opportunity to learn an important set of skills, which will allow them to bridge the gap between human behaviour and equine welfare. This PhD will provide the candidate with the opportunity to make real changes in the real world.

This project is located at SRUC Edinburgh.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Lesley Jessiman – Lesley.Jessiman@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Montse Costa Font, Dr Toritseju Begho

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: Orphan crops, also known as neglected, underutilized, or ancient crops, have been traditionally cultivated in West Africa. These crops offer significant benefits to local food systems, enhancing nutritional diversity and contributing to greater food security. However, they remain underutilized in many regions of the area.

This research aims to understand the factors that influence farmers’ and consumers’ decisions to adopt and embrace specific orphan crops. It will investigate how various factors intersect to either support or hinder this adoption. Mixed methods analysis will be employed using both primary and secondary data.

Structural equation modelling will be employed to validate behavioural models, helping to understand, predict, and create a structured framework for identifying intervention strategies that facilitate sustainable adoption decisions and enhance consumer acceptance. Additionally, a policy outcome mapping of agricultural policies in West African countries will be conducted to assess and evaluate how these existing policies facilitate or hinder the adoption of orphan crops. Data will be collected through random sampling from 2,250 stakeholders, with participants each from Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, representing various regions (urban, peri-urban, and rural areas).

Additionally, Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) will be utilized to identify market products that feature orphan crops in Africa. This approach will help in understanding the options available to consumers. Moreover, data from the Integrated Household Surveys on Agriculture will be used to analyse the actual supply and demand for orphan crops in each country.

This project is located in SRUC Edinburgh.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Montse Costa Font – Montse.CostaFont@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Roberta Bergero, Dr Luis Novo

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: The sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is dioecious, i.e. produces male and female flowers in separate plants. It is considered a multipurpose plant species: female plants produce bright orange berries that are high in vitamins, flavonoids and carotenoids. It also forms symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Frankia spp.), thus improving the soil nutritional profile; it is able to counteract soil erosion and stabilize sand dunes in coastal habitats and is known for its ability to sequester and bioaccumulate heavy metals from soils (1). Studies on the ecological distribution of this species show sexual dimorphisms across altitude (2) and distance from the shores. Such sexual dimorphism could translate on other aspects of the plant biology, including metal uptake physiology, plant nutrition and differential recruitment of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. You will generate sex-linked markers from pools of male and female DNAs from native and introduced Scottish populations. You will carry out greenhouse growth assays in metal-contaminated and non-contaminated soils on juveniles sexed with molecular markers to test for sexual differences in above-ground and below-ground bioaccumulation of heavy metals, plant physiology and recruitment of nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities. The knowledge generated in this project will inform programs of land reclamation, sea buckthorn fruit industry and research in plant domestication.

This project is located at SRUC Edinburgh.

References

Z. Ciesarová, et al., Why is sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) so exceptional? A review. Food Research International 133, 109170 (2020).
C. Li, G. Xu, R. Zang, H. Korpelainen, F. Berninger, Sex-related differences in leaf morphological and physiological responses in Hippophae rhamnoides along an altitudinal gradient. Tree Physiology 27, 399–406 (2007).

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Roberta Bergero – Roberta.Bergero@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Robin Walker, Dr Henry Criessen, Dr Alex Hilton

Location: Aberdeen

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: Growing barley for several years in succession on the same field is not uncommon in Northern Scotland. This does, however, increase the risk of soil and crop health related problems becoming an issue. Growing cover crops during the otherwise unproductive winter fallow period between successive spring barley crops has potential to offer multiple benefits based on this regenerative agricultural approach. These benefits include keeping soil covered, maintaining living roots year-round i.e. remediating or preventing erosion, compaction and nutrient leaching as well as helping break the ‘green bridge’ effect linked to weeds, pests and diseases of barley crops. This project aims to assess a range of potentially viable cover crop species and mixtures as well as evaluate prospective methods that might be used more reliably to establish them in the challenging environment of Northern Scotland. The project will also investigate the impact that these regenerative approaches can have on the production of successive spring barley crops based on their ability to improve soil health and reduce the need for synthetic fertiliser inputs. Field trials will be used to establish cover crops either ‘pre-harvest’ or immediately ‘post-harvest’ of a spring barley crop in Aberdeen and Orkney in order to help understand the impact that diversified cropping can have on soil health and its associated influence on the productivity and quality of the following spring barley crop. The small plot field trials at SRUC Craibstone and UHI Orkney will be supplemented by on-farm trials (e.g. split field) co-designed by willing farmers in order to better understand the impacts of different establishment approaches and the use of appropriate cover crop species at the field scale and across a range of soil types and climatic conditions. On Orkney the student will also work with bere barley systems, which is a landrace that matures early (providing greater opportunity to successfully establish overwintering cover crops) and is adapted to thrive in low nutrient soils offering the opportunity to produce a high quality, locally sustainable product with reduced inputs.

This project is located at SRUC Aberdeen.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Robin Walker – Robin.Walker@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Salvatore Galgano, Prof Nicola Holden

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

Contamination of food products, especially fresh produce such as leafy greens is caused mostly by a number of foodborne pathogens, including Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). The main route of transmission is through livestock animals such as cattle or pigs, whose faeces enter the system via irrigation water.

Although foodborne pathogens pose a serious risk to human health, current detection and surveillance methods are vastly based on generic E. coli markers, and do not take into account of the broad strain diversity within this bacterial species and of the fact that the plant microbiota can be populated by species conventionally classed as foodborne isolates.

Hence the need for an in-depth study to unravel the functional bacterial biomarkers indicative of contamination, by also discriminating the contamination type, and therefore the level of risk.

This output of this PhD project will be a novel dataset of contamination biomarkers, which has the potential of revolutionising the feed industry by providing the main stakeholders with a validated diagnostic tool with the prospects of decreasing the risk of zoonotic diseases and have a positive impact on morbidity and mortality.

The project is entirely aligned with the One Health approach, and it will be based on both classic microbiological (e.g., CFU enumeration) and cutting edge molecular techniques (i.e., short- and long-read metagenomics), combined with bioinformatics. Moreover, the selected candidate will have access to state of the art facilities such as the SRUC vertical farm, a fully controllable facility for researching crop growth, and both the Allermuir Avian and Innovation Skills Centre and the Easter Howgate farm, where cutting edge avian, pig and ruminant research is currently undertaken.

Moreover, the two industry partners, the Chilled Food Association (CFA) and the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) will greatly assist by providing criteria and data on E. coli incidence.

The three objectives for this project are:

Objective 1:

Assessment of existing and potential hygiene indicators.

Objective 2:

Use of the cutting edge SRUC facilities to set up and carry out the experimental work, ultimately leading to the assessment of environmental and faecal E. coli, and endemic plant microbiota on leafy vegetables crops during the growing and post-harvest phases.

Objective 3.

Define key growth metrics relevant to hygiene indicators for the fresh produce sector.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Salvatore Galgano – Salvatore.Galgano@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Scott Lawton, Dr Toby Landeryou, Dr Catherine Jones (University of Aberdeen), Prof Leslie Noble (Nord University, Norway)

Location: Inverness

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: The porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) a keystone species in marine ecosystems, is an apex predator. However, its populations have been severely depleted by overfishing, bycatch, and other anthropogenic pressures, compounded by the species’ slow growth, late maturity, and low reproductive rates. Currently classified as critically endangered in the North Atlantic and vulnerable globally significant knowledge gaps remain regarding its population structure, connectivity, and historical responses to environmental and anthropogenic pressures. Addressing these gaps is essential for development of effective conservation policies and sustainable fisheries management. Over the past decade mitogenomics has proved a powerful molecular approach to address issues surrounding population variability, connectivity and the potential for speciation events, and thus has become increasingly important in informing population management and conservation strategies. The mitochondrial genome’s rapid evolution, small size, and maternal inheritance make it a highly effective marker for studying genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary history. Mitogenomic approaches could uncover population connectivity and barriers to gene flow, revealing whether porbeagle sharks are part of a single global metapopulation or consist of distinct regional units. This knowledge is critical for identifying evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) that require targeted conservation measures.

Using mitochondrial genomes this project aims to provide detailed insights into the evolutionary history and population biology of the porbeagle by testing the following hypotheses: I) Porbeagle populations in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere represent distinct evolutionary lineages with significant genetic differentiation, indicating that they are separate species and thus should be managed as distinct conservation units. II) Variants in mitochondrial protein coding genes are under selection in populations inhabiting different environmental conditions/locations, these adaptations could facilitate or inhibit population resilience to change. III) Maternal lineages of exhibit high connectivity across some regions but show limited between hemispheric exchange due to geographic or ecological barriers. Information on gene flow has direct implications for management of fishing pressure and conserving genetic diversity. IV) Porbeagle populations have undergone significant demographic declines in the post-industrial era, coinciding with intensification of global fisheries, context crucial for understanding stock resilience and recovery.

Given the recent advances in sequencing technologies, mitogenomics offers a timely and effective tool to address the urgent conservation needs of the porbeagle, while establishing a framework for applying these methods to other vulnerable marine species. The student will be trained in molecular biology, evolution and ecology, population genetics and bioinformatics.

This project is located at SRUC Inverness.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Scott Lawton – Scott.Lawton@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Simon Turner, Dr Lesley Jessiman, Dr Faical Aichaki, Dr Kenny Rutherford

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description: Keeping pregnant beef cows at the right level of body condition (neither fat nor thin) prevents negative welfare outcomes and improves the environmental and economic efficiency of beef production. This is important as beef production is economically crucial to rural communities but is a major contributor to the climate crisis. Condition scoring cows requires only a few seconds of effort and no additional equipment, but is performed by less than 5% of farmers. The very low uptake of this simple management practice negatively affects farm efficiency, animal welfare and environmental impact. In our previous work, around 20% of cows in the national herd were below the recommended body condition at calving. This PhD will study the psychological, social, motivational, and economic barriers that prevent adoption of condition scoring and test an intervention to improve uptake.

The project has four objectives, each forming a thesis chapter (though the student will be encouraged to influence the research direction). Objective 1 will understand the perceptions of condition scoring among farmers and vets and identify the barriers to adoption. With farmers, this will focus primarily on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is self-determined by the individual. Extrinsic motivation stems from external punishment or reward and avoidance of guilt or protection of self-esteem. Enhancing intrinsic motivation is more likely to benefit positive behaviour change. With vets we will explore the value they place on correct body condition and why they do not advise farmers about the condition of their animals, despite condition being inappropriate. Objective 2 will quantify the skill of farmers and vets in condition scoring cows and their perception of ‘acceptable’ thresholds for leanness and obesity to understand how far these differ from industry guidelines. Objective 3 will quantify farmer willingness-to-pay to prevent leanness (e.g. through additional supplementary feed). Objective 4 will develop an intervention and test its effectiveness in increasing awareness, knowledge, skill and intention to adopt condition scoring.

This multidisciplinary project will be based at SRUC near Edinburgh in one of the world’s largest welfare research teams close to Europe’s largest animal science research campus. Supervisors have expertise in animal welfare, human psychology, behavioural change and agricultural economics. Consultancy and veterinary colleagues will also input. The student will gain first-hand experience of interacting with farmers and vets, and skills in human behaviour change theory and methodology, animal welfare science and economic analysis. This broad skill set will maximise future employability.

This project is located at SRUC Edinburgh.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Simon Turner – Simon.Turner@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Toritseju Begho, Dr Vera Eory

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

Over recent decades, there has been a heavy reliance on synthetic fertilisers to meet the food demand of the world’s growing population. However, this shift towards intensive use of fertilisers has several ramifications. Thus, the impact of agriculture on the environment is a topic of growing focus and concern. This concern is higher in South Asia as it is a region with one of the fastest-growing populations in the world and is reported to be one of the global hotspots for reactive nitrogen [1,2]. The environmental impact of pollution from mismanaged nitrogen, among other concerns, underlines the urgency of re-evaluating farmers’ perceptions, knowledge and use and exploring sustainable alternatives.

While studies globally have focused on the pressing need to address the environmental and agricultural sustainability associated with nitrogen use, unique challenges or contextual factors in South Asia warrant a region-specific study investigation. In addition, there is a gap in the literature exploring farmers' perceptions and knowledge of both synthetic and organic fertilisers and studies that uncover and address potential misconceptions, preferences, and practices among farmers in South Asia. There are also research gaps in the methodological approaches. In this PhD project, you will employ a mixed-method approach critical for developing well-informed, context-specific interventions and policies to promote sustainable use of synthetic and organic fertilisers.

The main objective of this PhD project is to gain comprehensive understanding of farmers' perceptions, knowledge, and utilization of synthetic and organic fertilisers in South Asia, with a focus on promoting sustainable nitrogen use. The objectives will be achieved within three related papers. Paper 1 will focus on farmers' beliefs, knowledge and attitudes regarding synthetic and organic fertilisers. Paper 2 will examine geographical variations and correlations between farmers’ attitudes and knowledge towards nitrogen inputs and farm-level nitrogen use efficiency while paper 3 will explore farmers' sources and perceptions of advice on synthetic and organic fertilisers. The project will combine qualitative and quantitative research methods, incorporating the synthesis of the existing literature with secondary data collected from countries in South Asia (papers 1 and 2) and primary data which will be obtained from field survey and interviews from a selection of these countries (paper 3).

The findings from your PhD will offer understanding into the beliefs, attitudes, and values that shape farmers’ fertiliser use decisions and provide empirical evidence for driving behavioural shifts towards sustainable nitrogen use in South Asia.

This project is located at SRUC Edinburgh.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or

a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Toritseju Begho – Toritseju.Begho@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

Funding Notes:

Start date: October 2025

Duration: 3.5 YEARS

Stipend: UKRI stipend levels (£19,237 in 2024/25)

Supervisors: Dr Jolanda van Munster, Prof Nicola Holden, Prof Jamie Newbold

Location: Edinburgh

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2025

Description:

Feed digestion, enabled by the digestive tract microbiome, is critical to ruminant health and performance in farming, including GHG emissions. Manipulation of microbiome activity is thus a highly promising avenue to address challenges in ruminant farming. However, it presents a key challenge: it requires functional understanding of the microbiome.

The rumen microbiome consists of bacteria, archaea, protozoa and fungi, whereby fungi play a key role in digestion of plant cell walls in feed. The interactions of these fungi with other microbiome members underpin the rumen microbiome function but are very poorly understood.

This project aims to identify and characterise functional interactions between rumen-derived microbes, particularly fungi and bacteria, during plant cell wall digestion.

Key objectives are to

Create a biobank of simplified microbial communities derived from ruminant digestive tracts.

Culturable microbial communities that retain function but are simplified in terms of biodiversity, are developed by combining four different experimental approaches, then stored and characterised.

Identify bacterial functionalities and bacterial-fungal partnerships via functional screening employing the biobank.

Interactions and roles of fungi and their partners in digestion will be uncovered, such as identifying carbohydrate-based or other cross-feeding, or keystone species for the production of fermentation products.

Characterisation of the identified microbial interactions and functionalities. Communities will be deconstructed to identify community members responsible for key functions, and the associated interaction mechanism elucidated.

Together this will result in insight in cross-kingdom interactions between microbes that play a role in plant cell wall digestion in the rumen and has potential to uncover new interactions and roles of these microbes.

This project builds on experience with biobanking¹, in fungal biology², and rumen microbiology³ at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and bioinformatics at University of Edinburgh. You will benefit from training across these disciplines, including in anaerobe mycology and bacteriology, enzymology of carbohydrate active enzymes, molecular biology and genetics approaches to working with microbial communities such as amplicon sequencing.

You will mainly be based at the King’s Building campus in Edinburgh and work closely with partners at the SRUC Aberdeen campus and the Roslin Institute. The supervisory team is committed, and expects your active contribution, to an inclusive work environment and professional development of all research team members.

Eligibility:

For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:

an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.

Application Process:

Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Jolanda Van-Munster – Jolanda.van-munster@sruc.ac.uk

After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:

2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.

3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk.

How it works

We offer excellent opportunities for research leading to a higher degree, usually Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at SRUC. Completing a research degree programme successfully requires scientific and technical knowledge, project planning, time and resource management. You will also need good communication skills, critical thinking and analysis. We work with you to create a plan, based on a detailed analysis of training needs, that is updated regularly throughout the programme of study. Research students are encouraged to participate fully in the academic life at SRUC Studying will forge connections and experiences that will be of benefit whether you continue to work in an academic or industrial research environment or elsewhere.

You can find more information on SRUC’s PhD in Agriculture, Rural and Environmental Studies within our course catalogue or learn more by contacting the Doctoral College using the link below.

The Doctoral College

The Doctoral College is responsible for the administration, development, and support of our postgraduate research programme. It provides guidance for PGR students on all aspects of the research journey, from application to completion.

As well as being the first point of contact for PGR students, The Doctoral College helps our postgraduate research community forge connections with networks of peers, academics, and professional services. We strongly believe in promoting inter-disciplinary and entrepreneurial thinking, and this reflects the collaborative ethos across SRUC and our partners.

In more practical terms, the Doctoral College can fund support for research student skills development through the Small Grant Competition. Students can apply for funds to support research-relevant activities or to buy small items of equipment.

The Doctoral College also organises the annual Postgraduate Research Conference. This provides an opportunity for research postgraduates to present various stages of their work publicly and to engage with those from other centres who may be carrying out a project in a similar, or a more diverse, subject area.

Contact the Doctoral College

SRUC launches new PhD programme

In a significant step towards shaping the future of agriculture, rural and environmental studies, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) has launched a new PhD programme.

Climate change research wins PhD student prize

A postgraduate student at Scotland’s Rural College has won a prize for her research looking at the effects of climate change on European grassland yields.

Shear delight for Alex after Woolmen scholarship

A PhD student at Scotland’s Rural College has been awarded a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Woolmen.

Research news

Have a look at our latest news articles to find out more about our research activities and impact across the globe.

Contact our Research Team

Get in touch with our research team if you have any questions.

SRUC Pure

You can access our research outputs, learn more about our research team, see our current and past research projects and much more on SRUC Pure.

Postgraduate research opportunities

MScR opportunities

PhD opportunities

BARIToNE: Potential for sustainable soil quality and crop yield enhancement by biochar generated from distillery residual byproducts and digestate (Project code 25B)

BARIToNE: Sustainable Agriculture and Mycotoxins in Barley (Project code 25D)

E5 Golden Greens: Harnessing Cyanogenic Plants for Eco-Friendly Gold Recovery

E5 Investigating the Biodiversity and Ecological Determinants of Fungus Gnats (Sciaridae): An Emerging Pest in Glasshouse Environments

E5 Global monitoring models for marine mammal strandings: Creating surveillance intelligence systems for marine mammal strandings management

EastBio Transforming socio-ecological systems using systems modelling

EastBio CASE Targeted Crop Improvement for Vertical Farming: Bridging the Innovation Gap

EastBio Invasive mammals, island biogeography, and the ecological epidemiology of a One Health pathogen

EastBio CASE Trade-offs and synergies between greenhouse gas and ammonia mitigation strategies in ruminant production systems

EastBio Investigating the resilience and sustainability of Scottish hill sheep systems

EastBio CASE Berry Boost: Leveraging Genomics and Data to Enhance Strawberry Breeding

EastBio A Systems-Level Analysis of Total-Body PET data in pigs

EastBio CASE Digital innovations for improved production efficiency and reduced environmental impact of beef production

EastBio Place based regenerative solutions for net zero

EastBio Are grasslands as important for soil carbon as we think?

EastBio Understanding the diversity, ecology and veterinary significance of an important One Health pathogen: Anaplasmosis in Scotland

EastBio Landscape genetics and vector incrimination of the snail intermediate hosts that transmit endemic and invasive Fasciola liver fluke in South African rural environments

EastBio Using Bark Compounds to Mitigate Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants

EastBio Insect Communities: Measuring Nutritional Robustness Across Agricultural Landscapes

EastBio Food Motivation in Horses; From Behaviour to Genetics

EastBio NEST: developing a non-Invasive Novel Embryo Sexing Technique (for the laying hen industry)

EastBio Combined Therapeutic Efficacy of Phages and Probiotics to Control Avian Pathogenic Escherichia Coli

EastBio Putting the Context into Microbial Communities: Integration of Contextual Metadata for Crop Microbiomes

EastBio Functional Understanding of the Rumen Mycobiome via Consortia of Anaerobic Gut Fungi

EastBio Private Sector Intervention Strategies for the Rapid Scaling of Silvopastoral Agroforestry Adoption in Latin America: Evaluating the Potential of the Voluntary Carbon Market

Understanding genomic structural variation for cattle complex phenotypes

De-risking agri-food business through enhanced water scarcity awareness

Preferences for environmental tax and its welfare effects in East Africa: the role of behavioural factors.

Raspberry Ripples - quantifying the environmental footprint of soft fruit production

Addressing workforce shortages in the care economy in rural and island areas of Scotland

The Evolution of Pathogen-Host Interactions in Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Blackisle and the Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

Discovering the Ghost Ponds of Scotland for Improving the Conservation of Freshwater Amphibians

Improving Equine Welfare through Human Behaviour Change Science

Towards Reducing Food Insecurity: Understanding the Adoption and Utilization of Orphan Crops in West Africa

What are the consequences of sexual dimorphism for habitat choice? Lessons from an actinorhizal dioecious plant (Hippophae rhamnoides L.)

Exploring the potential and limitations of cover cropping in spring barley rotations in Northern Scotland, with a focus on establishment reliability

Are environmental E. coli a suitable hygiene indicator for the fresh produce industry?

Detection of speciation, adaptation and connectivity in Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus) populations: A role for mitogenomics in conservation of large marine predators

Overcoming human barriers to uptake of condition scoring in the beef industry

A mixed method study of farmers’ perceptions, knowledge and use of nitrogen and the implications for sustainable nitrogen management in South Asia

Elucidating interactions between rumen-derived fungi and bacteria via a biobank of simplified microbial communities

How it works

The Doctoral College

PhD studies in SRUC news:

SRUC launches new PhD programme

Climate change research wins PhD student prize

Shear delight for Alex after Woolmen scholarship

Find out more about our services

Research news

Contact our Research Team

SRUC Pure